Why ‘AGT’ Season 19 Winner Richard Goodall Won’t Win the $1 Million Prize

America’s Got Talent fans, let’s all congratulate Richard Goodall as the winner of season 19!

The latest installment of the hit NBC competition series just wrapped up the season, and fans are ecstatic by the former janitor’s victory in the final round of the season. With judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel helping the audience figure out who deserved to come out on top every week, it wasn’t a surprise folks were waiting in suspense to see if their favorite would end up taking it all.

In the end, it was clear Richard was the one to beat, edging out dog act Roni Sagi and Rhythm and electric drone group Sky Elements to claim the $1 million top prize.

When host Terry Crews congratulated Richard on his success, he also revealed to the audience that Richard would received the huge monetary reward teased from the very beginning. Although fans are thrilled for what Richard managed to gain out of competing for the last few months, they may be surprised to learn there’s a major caveat that comes with earning the $1 million dollar prize at the end of the season.

If fans paid attention at the end of each AGT episode, a disclaimer comes on screen that reads “the prize, which totals $1,000,000, is payable in a financial annuity over forty years, or the contestant may choose to receive the present cash value of such annuity.” So, what exactly does this mean? Well, Forbes managed to break it down back in 2016, making it a little easier for folks to understand at home.

As it turns out, the outlet explained at the time an intriguing finding about if an AGT winner actually wins the $1 million prize. According to the publication, should a winner decide to take the cash in its full entirety (also known as the “present cash value”), then the earnings would only measure up to around $300,000 after breaking it down to pay for taxes. On the other hand, should the winner decide to split receiving the cash payout over four decades, then the person would receive $25,000 per year before taxes.

Although there doesn’t seem to be a more updated resource on how much of the $1 million prize the AGT winner gets, it’s important to note the winners have been able to make a lot more money after winning the show. Season 11 winner Grace VanderWaal is currently starring in the 2024 film Megalopolis, and season 18 winner Adrian Stoica performed with his dog Hurricane during the America’s Got Talent Presents: Superstars show in Las Vegas in late January.

If Richard was able to be this incredible during his run on America’s Got Talent, we can only imagine what else is in his future!