the playing team gets more up front depending on the bowl payout. There was a thread on here not long ago that linked the SEC explanation. For example: IF the bowl payout is between 1 mil and 2 mil, the playing team gets 200k for travel and expenses then the remainder is split 13 ways. IF the payout is between 4 mil and 5 mil, the playing team gets 800k for travel and expenses. These numbers are made up, but I think you can get the point.