Jonathan Reinis didn’t make any producing decisions on the Broadway musical “Pippin,” but he put $125,000 into the $8.5 million show, enough to receive a prominent producer’s credit. Yet after “Pippin” won the Tony Award for best musical revival last month, Mr. Reinis was invited to pay more — $2,500 in return for his very own Tony.

Unlike the Oscars and the Grammys, for which actual awards are given only to hands-on producers and artists, organizers sell Tonys to dozens of major investors, which helps finance the multimillion-dollar awards ceremony. This year looks to be one of the most lucrative yet. Because of the proliferation of these investors (who are called producers in Broadway parlance), so many are eligible to buy the silver medallion on a pedestal that the Tonys may pull in $250,000 or more.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that we’re asked to pay $2,500 when the actual award costs a fraction of that, and part of me doesn’t want to pay,” said Terry Allen Kramer, a veteran producer and investor who put money into “Kinky Boots,” which won the Tony for best musical.

Asked if she was passing on the option, however, she laughed over the phone from her vacation spot in Saint-Tropez, France. “Of course not,” she said. “I figure when I die, it’s something to leave the kids.”