There is big money in college football's guarantee games. These are the most interesting deals.

USA TODAY Sports used public-records requests to obtain contracts for 297 non-conference college football games scheduled by Bowl Subdivision teams this season. In total, nearly $175 million will be changing hands for those games.

With roughly 30 matchups being between private schools or institutions not required to disclose contract terms, the overall non-conference total greater. Plus, there is the $5 million due Georgia Tech for playing its Atlantic Coast Conference home game this weekend against Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium rather than its Bobby Dodd Stadium orthe money paid to Nebraska and Northwestern for their involvement in a Big Ten game last weekend in Dublin, Ireland.

One of the biggest outlier contracts for non-conference games this season is California's game at Notre Dame on Sept. 17. The Golden Bears are set to receive $1.9 million, , by far the largest payout to a Power Five school playing at its opponent's stadium.

While this is not the first contract of its kind between two Power Five schools, there are rarely payouts of this size between those programs for one-off contests at a home site. The second-highest payout between two Power Five programs is for Alabama, which will receive $1 million for playing at Texas but then is set to pay Texas $1 million next season for the teams' meeting in Tuscaloosa.

The anomalous game contract comes as a result of Cal's current financial situation. The school is currently in the midst of a six-year plan to gradually reduce the university's annual financial support of the athletics department, eventually arriving at $13.3 million by the 2025 fiscal year. Beginning in the 2015 fiscal year, the Cal athletics program began running annual operational deficits totaling $65.8 million over a five-year period, according to data compiled by USA TODAY Sports and the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University.

Some other interesting facts from this season's guarantee games.

Big money for LSU and Florida State game

The highest-paying game in 2022 is an alternate-site matchup between LSU and Florida State. Both sides will receive $5.1 million from organizers of the Sugar Bowl for their involvement in the game, which is being played Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

BIG BUCKS: How Middle Tennessee got $1.5 million to play James Madison

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GRAPHICS: An in-depth look at schools paying millions aiming for home-field wins

Disparity in Georgia's matchup with Oregon

The other Power Five non-conference neutral-site game paid out by a third party — in this case, organizers of the Peach Bowl — is Georgia's matchup with Oregon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Not only will Oregon receive $500,000 less than Georgia for itsinvolvement ($4.5 million to Georgia's $5 million), Georgia was allotted $5.63 million more in tickets to sell.

Georgia was given 43,000 total tickets to sell, compared to Oregon's 6,052. While both schools were given tickets to sell in the lower level, Georgia received 10,276 more than Oregon in this section. In addition, Georgia was also asked to sell an additional 7,538 mezzanine seats and a combined 19,034 tickets in the upper level.

Michigan paying out big bucks

Michigan is set to pay out the most of any school over the course of the 2022 season. The university will pay out $5.5 million over the course of three games: $1.8 million to Colorado State, $1.8 million to Connecticut and $1.9 million to Hawaii. All of the games are one-off contests negotiated within a year of each other.

Louisiana-Monroe, Kent State cashing in

While Louisiana-Monroe is on the receiving end of the highest- and tied for the seventh-highest paying non-conference games not being paid out by a third party, Kent State is poised to receive the most of any school on non-conference games, bringing in $5.2 million across three games. Kent State is playing on the road against three Power Five opponents this year, playing at Washington on Sept. 3, Oklahoma on Sept.10, and Georgia on Sept. 24.

Kent State will also host a non-conference game against Long Island University, paying $300,000 for the contest.

ULM is getting $1,915,000 for playing at Alabama and $1.85 million for playing at Texas.

Eastern Washington's rare Power Five double-dip

As a result of schedule shuffling caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Eastern Washington — a Championship Subdivision school — will have two Power Five opponents on its schedule in 2022. In 2016, Eastern Washington announced a contest against Florida (then coached by EWU alum Jim McElwain) to be played in 2020. While pandemic restrictions prevented the original meeting from taking place, the two schools re-negotiated a deal in February 2021 to play the game Oct. 1 of this year. This comes in addition to EWU's game with Oregon, on Sept. 3. Eastern Washington has not had two Power Five schools on its schedule since 2008, when they played Texas Tech and Colorado in the same season.

In total, Eastern Washington will receive $1.385 million from the two contests: $750,000 from Florida and $635,000 from Oregon.

Idaho benefits from Indiana deal in 2015

Idaho is set to receive the highest single-game non-conference payout for an FCS team, earning $1.3 million for its game against Indiana. The game is a second leg of a two-game contract with Indiana. The first game of the deal was played in 2021; Indiana won the contest 56-14.

Idaho and Indiana originally struck the deal in June 2015, when Idaho was a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The following year, the Sun Belt announced that Idaho not renew their deal with the conference after the 2017 season. Now a part of the Big Sky Conference, Idaho and Indiana did not amend the price of the deal despite the realignment.

Football and basketball deal for Florida International, Bryant

Florida International's contract with Bryant also includesa deal for a men's basketball game. Bryant's football team will play in Miami this weekend. Its men's basketball team will do so in November or December this year. Bryant will receive $250,000 overall.

Alabama State band headed to UCLA

One point consistently addressed in non-conference game contracts involves specifying how many members of the visiting school's band and cheerleading sections are allowed to come to the game. The number typically falls below 100 combined members and is detailed in a subsection of the contract.

In the contract detailing the matchup between UCLA and Alabama State, however, Alabama State's band plays a central role.

The first section of agreement, drafted by UCLA, specifically mentions the band by its official name — "The Mighty Marching Hornets" — and says "225-250 members shall also attend and participate" in the event.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football guarantee games: The most interesting deals this year