T-Mobile is bringing back Friday Night 5G Lights for a third season, and this year the Un-carrier is putting more than $8.4 million in total prizes on the table for small-town high schools across the country — more than double what was up for grabs in previous years.

The program, which celebrates hometown high school football programs in US towns with populations under 150,000, returns with a new divisional bracket format and the return of its marquee prize: a $1 million football field upgrade for one grand-prize-winning school. Past winners include Inola High School in Inola, Oklahoma (population 1,900), the program’s inaugural 2024 champion, and Dierks High School in Dierks, Arkansas (population 900), which won in 2025 after pulling in nearly 2 million public votes. In total, more than 750 schools have won prizes through the program since it launched.

Here’s how this year’s prize structure breaks down: 1,000 schools will each win $5,000 through weekly “$5K Fridays” sweepstakes, starting with 300 winners in week one (beginning August 7) and 100 more winners each week for seven additional weeks. Four standout social media video entries will win a $5,000 Spotlight School award. 

Forty finalists (10 each from West, East, Midwest, and South divisions) will earn $25,000 apiece plus a T-Mobile-hosted Home Game Celebration. From there, four Division Champions (one per division) will win $250,000, a Gronk Fitness gym worth $90,000, and a $5,000 student leadership award. 

One “Fan Favorite,” selected by T-Mobile employees, wins an additional $25,000. The grand prize winner takes home the $1 million field upgrade.

Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes returns for his second season as a program ambassador alongside four-time Super Bowl champion Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, joined this year by college athletes Dante Moore, Ashlea Klam, CJ Carr, Rocco Becht, and Kewan Lacy.

Eligible schools can apply now through September 18 at FridayNight5GLights.com, with the first 1,500 applicants receiving a rally kit. Every application also earns an automatic entry into the $5K Fridays sweepstakes, and schools can boost their odds with bonus entries by posting on X or Instagram with #FN5GL and #Entry while tagging @TMobile. A panel of judges will select the 40 division finalists based on community impact, need, creativity, and social engagement, with public voting running October 8–25 and the final grand-prize winner announced November 12.

T-Mobile is also running Tailgate Week from August 11–15, with more than 500 T-Mobile retail stores hosting hometown celebrations — and yes, that’s the same week the free T-Mobile Tuesdays grilling tongs drop, so it’s shaping up to be a good week to swing by your local store either way.