Florida Gators will compete in Players Era tournament in Las Vegas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Next season, the Florida Gators are playing in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. And this time, they will be part of a two-tournament field that awards NIL prize money.

The Players Era tournament expands to 24 teams next season and moves to ESPN, with an eight-team tournament the week of November 16 and a 16-team tournament during Thanksgiving Week.

The Gators, who opened last season in Las Vegas, will headline the Players Era Eight field in 2026-27, which also includes Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers and UNLV.

Thanksgiving Week will be the Players Era Sixteen, featuring Michigan along with Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State and Kansas State.

The event began in 2024 as the Players Era Festival with an eight-team tournament that promised each school at least $1 million in NIL opportunities and awarded an additional $1 million to the champion, Oregon. It expanded to 18 teams last year and Michigan won the three-day tournament in Las Vegas.

Players Era will pay some schools more than others to participate in the two-bracket tournament for the 2026-27 season, according to CBS Sports, which reports that Kansas is being paid the most. The average payout for all 24 schools will be slightly north of $1 million, according to event organizers.

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