Men's sports have a number of prestigious awards, but none higher than the World Cup Trophy. Each and every young player's ultimate goal is to have this one piece of hardware in his hands. Since the tournament only takes place once every four years, only a select few have ever been able to hoist this trophy.

In the eyes of many, a player's career is not complete until they have hoisted this particular trophy. This is considered more prestigious than winning a local championship or a European title. Neither the players nor the victorious nation gets to retain it, however.

Instead, in addition to the national pride that comes from making it far in the tournament, each country receives a financial reward. While the main motivation for participating is the chance to represent one's country and be recognized as the best in the world, players are also motivated by the possibility of cashing in on bonuses that will go toward supporting their respective national teams and governing bodies.

FIFA World Cup 2022 prize money: How much do the champions get?

Prize money for the World Cup totals $440 million, split among the teams according to how far they advanced in the tournament, and an additional $1.5 million for just qualifying. When compared to the 2018 event, this represents a rise of $40 million.

Conversely, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil only offered $358 million in prize money. The television rights alone are expected to generate $2.6 billion for FIFA's revenue budget in 2022, a sizeable but not insurmountable number.

It was announced in April of 2022 that the winning team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will get a whopping $42 million. A rise of $4 million from last year maintains a pattern of exponential wage growth for prize winners over the last four decades. See the entire 2022 World Cup prize money chart below for an accounting of every team's earnings in Qatar.

Finish place Prize money
Champions $42m
Runners-up $30m
Third place $27m
Fourth place $25m
5th-8th place $68m ($17m per team)
9th-16th place $104m ($13m per team)
17th-32nd place $144m ($9m per team)