A million-and-a-half bucks isn’t a bad haul for a day’s work.

That’s the amount Kent State will receive from Arizona State when the two universities' football programs open their 2019 seasons in Tempe on Thursday. The Golden Flashes won’t depart with a physical check in hand and, in all likelihood, they will walk away with a loss.

But eventually, and more important, they will get paid. Kent State is not a popular pick to win the Mid-American Conference after going 2-10 last season. However, it will lead the league – and all non-Power Five, non-independent programs – in revenue from guarantee games this season at $4.5 million. And it won't be close.

Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee State are set to make the second most from road guarantee games among non-Power Five, non-independent teams at $3.15 million apiece.

The Golden Flashes will play at Auburn on Sept. 14 and at Wisconsin on Oct 5, receiving $1.9 million and $1.1 million, respectively, for those games. The money comes with the possibility that Kent State will have endured three physically demanding, potentially lopsided losses by the time it has all but one conference game awaiting. (Along the way, though, Kent State also will have played Kennesaw State, a Football Championship Subdivision school it is paying $300,000 for a game Sept. 7.)

GUARANTEE-GAME CONTRACTS:They cover much more than the money

LONG TIME COMING:Why it took Ohio State and Cincinnati 16 years to finish two-game series

THE LIST:College football guarantee games move millions of dollars

But the net total $4.2 million is projected to account for “10 to 15%” of Kent State’s athletics department revenue for the 2020 fiscal year, athletics director Joel Nielsen said.

“It’s not insignificant when you look at roughly a $30 million budget," Nielsen told USA TODAY Sports. "So (guarantee games were) part of our conversations with university administration when we’re projecting a five-year budget and what can be done to enhance revenues and control expenses.”

The money from guarantee games grows in importance with each season for Kent State. Next season, games against Alabama, Kentucky and a yet-to-be-announced Power Five school, Nielsen said, is expected to bring in roughly $5 million. In fiscal year 2022, the guarantees are projected to account for 17.2% of the department's budget, according to Nielsen, whereas the guarantee games made up 13.5% of the budget in fiscal year 2019.

In fiscal 2018, more than $20 million of Kent State's nearly $29 million in athletics revenue came from student fees and institutional funds, its annual financial report to the NCAA showed. That degree of subsidy is typical for MAC schools. At Kent State, Nielsen said, the money from football guarantee games is imperative when discussing future budgets with campus leaders.

“We want to do everything on our end, from an external standpoint, to raise revenues to either keep that subsidy at the same level or either reduce that,” Nielsen said. “Our fiscal model, that we work with the university administration on, doesn’t specifically dictate that the monies from a specific guarantee game go toward a specific project. But those monies are directed into our overall budget."

For Nielsen, it’s a scheduling version of a double-edged sword.

“The biggest challenge, I think, is knowing that ... it’s going to be difficult for us to be competitive each and every game,” Nielsen said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to make some noise nationally, but it’s a heck of a challenge to come out of there with a win.”

No one is more aware of that test than second-year head coach Sean Lewis.

"A lot of people look at it from a negative light, where they see ‘Hey, there’s three Power Five teams, why would you wanna do that?’ " Lewis said on a conference call this week. "Our kids have a great chip on their shoulder, in terms of being great young men and great young players, and a majority of them feel overlooked that they weren’t Power Five kids. We feel like we got some kids that we were able to steal and we were able to recruit that have some Power Five talent and we’re going to go compete."

Kent State declined USA TODAY Sports' request to interview a player for this report.

With games against a slew of Southeastern Conference schools on the docket in the next few years, the Golden Flashes can sell potential recruits on the chance to face those powerhouses.

The occasional upset is always possible. Twice last year, at Mississippi and at Illinois, Kent State played close games into the fourth quarter.

“It’s an opportunity for not only (the players) as individuals but also our program and our university," Nielsen said. "It’s a university strategy also to brand ourselves and get our brand out there.”

The reality is that the triumphs are far and few between. Much more common are games like the 63-10 drubbing Penn State handed the Golden Flashes last season.

Still, the guarantee games beckon.

"The guaranteed money is a lot of money, obviously, for one game," Nielsen said. "I would hope we could find other opportunities to make that money up, whether it’s ticket sales or donations or external support. I think long term you’d hope that’d be the case, but it’s something right now that we’re just taking day-by-day and see how it plays out.”

Contributing: Andy Kostka, Lila Bromberg