What do you get if you win American Idol? How much money does the American Idol winner get?

American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller. It ran for 15 seasons on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016. It was on hiatus for two years until March 11, 2018, when a revival of the series began airing on ABC.

Noah Thompson was crowned the winner of American Idol in 2022, followed by HunterGirl and Leah Marlene. According to Newsweek, the winner of American Idol will receive $250,000.

The winner will receive half of the prize money ($125k) when they sign the initial contract, with the remainder handed out after they have created an entire album in four months.

According to the publication, the Idol winner will also “have a budget of up to $300,000 for recording that album, which is given as an advance that they will have to pay back against future revenues.”

A record deal with Hollywood Records will be handed to the winner. However, since the inaugural season of American Idol, the prize money has reduced dramatically.