What Does the Winner of ‘The Voice’ Get?

What does the winner of NBC’s The Voice get?

The winning singer at the end of each season of The Voice takes home a cash prize and a recording contract, but that’s no guarantee of professional success after the show is over.

Sofronio Vasquez of Team Michael Buble won Season 26 of The Voice on Tuesday night (Dec. 10), and the singer will receive the same prize that each of the last six winners got: $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group.

• The cash prize has remained the same throughout 25 seasons of The Voice — Season 1 winner Javier Colon also took home $100K.
• Previous winners signed with different record companies. For example, Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery signed to Big Machine Label Group.
• Winners are also eligible to earn royalties on future music sales.

The $100,000 prize does not come without strings attached. New York Daily News reports that if a contestant violates their contract with NBC, they will not keep the prize. Any contestant who reveals the details of the contract can be subject to a lawsuit between $100,000 and $1 million.

Previous winners of The Voice have been open about the fact that signing a label deal is not necessarily a ticket to fame and fortune; in fact, far more Voice winners have experienced lukewarm marketplace results at best than have gone on to major commercial success.

Sundance Head and Craig Wayne Boyd are two The Voice winners who expressed disappointment with how their record labels treated them immediately after winning. Season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski had all but disappeared professionally before she showed up to say goodbye to Blake Shelton during the Season 23 finale.

Along with the cash prize, trophy and record deal, for the most part, contestants still have the mentorship and support of their celebrity coaches after the show. Season 14 champion Brynn Cartelli opened mentor/coach Kelly Clarkson‘s Meaning of Life Tour along with Kelsea Ballerini.

Contestants are often seen appearing on The Voice with new music or collaborations after their season is done, so the association can pay off in future exposure for new products. Cartelli also says the show’s wardrobe department let her take “anything she wanted” home with her.

According to New York Daily News, contestants are paid a small stipend to cover expenses during the filming of the show, but they give up some basic legal protections in agreeing to take their shot at riches and fame.

The contract stipulates that The Voice can change the rules at any time, eliminate contestants even if they are winning via public votes and completely ignore the show’s voting system altogether, including the sales for the contestants’ iTunes songs.