Over the holidays this year, on two separate occasions I found myself amazed at how quickly the numbers added up.

The first time, I (the father of two young children) was standing in a check-out line at Toys-R-Us. Santa Claus and I have an understanding -- sort of an attorney-client privilege thing -- about keeping those particular details secret, although I can tell you that I witnessed a near-fistfight between two WWE-sized shoppers who each felt he was the first to push his overloaded cart into a newly opened check-out lane. For a moment, the "spirit of giving" took on an entirely different meaning. Come to think of it, I saw similar conflicts -- even learned a few new words, including sign language -- in the parking lot and at several major intersections on the way to the store. Ah, 'twas the season.

The second time the dollar signs rolled in my eyes came as I was researching an article about the various things college football players (read: amateurs) receive when they attend bowl games. Over the last 20 years, I had written about a variety of such topics, but I guess I never had looked at the composite picture, which I found both stunning and refreshing.

Get out your calculators, or your cell phones, or whatever you're using for basic math these days:

(1) Bowl Gifts: Under NCAA rules, bowls are permitted to give up to $500 in various loot to up to 125 members (mostly players) on the participating teams. That's a revised number, up from $350 per player in 2004.

Example: Every N.C. State and South Florida player at the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte received a portable DVD player (eight-inch screen), a rolling duffel bag, a football inscribed with his name and school logo, and a special-edition Fossil watch.

Subtotal: up to $500 per player.

(2) School Gifts: The participating schools are permitted to give up to $350 in various items to their players.

Example: At the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho, Boise State gave each of its players (in addition to smaller items) an iPod nano, and Boston College gave its players 27-inch televisions.

Subtotal: up to $350 per player.

(3) Travel Costs: Under NCAA rules, the participating schools can compensate any of their players who make their own way to the game with either the cost of a round-trip plane ticket from campus or their hometowns OR with the total mileage of the trip (both directions) itself, whichever is greater.

That turns into a wonderful -- and completely within the rules -- money-making opportunity for the players, who typically forgo the school's plane, pocket the money, then carpool with teammates to minimize their actual expenses.

Example: At Virginia Tech, all but three of the 113 players on the Hokies' Gator Bowl roster made their own way to Jacksonville, Fla. At 34.5 cents per mile (the allowable rate) for a roundtrip of more than 1,200 miles, that's more than $400 per player. In this case, however, the roundtrip airfare prices often were even more expensive, so most players received between $500 and $600.

Subtotal: around $500 per player, after expenses.

(4) Workout Gear: The participating schools are permitted to provide their players with a "workout package" of athletic gear. This does NOT count against the above-mentioned $350 limit.

Example: Georgia Tech, which played in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, issued a workout package that included athletic shoes, sweats, shorts and T-shirts.

Subtotal: roughly $200 (mostly the shoes).

(5) Meal Money: The participating schools are permitted to pay for any meals that aren't already provided by the school or the bowl.

Example: Clemson players received $226 each to cover 21 meals: eight from Dec. 17-20 after the university closed for the holiday break, and 13 during the Tigers' trip to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The bowl hosted a number of events, so the players received cash for only those meals that weren't on the schedule -- $16 for dinners, $10 for lunches, and $6 for breakfasts.

Subtotal: $200-$250, but minimal after expenses.

(6) Per Diems: The participating schools are permitted to pay daily cash allowances of $20 for incidental expenses.

Subtotal: $100-$150, but minimal after expenses.

Grand Total: roughly $1,500-$2,000 per player in cash/gifts.

Likely Profit: $1,000-$1,500 per player, depending on the school/bowl and the unique travel circumstances of each player.

Think that's big money? After the 2004-05 season alone, the college bowl games combined to gross about $253 million, and the participating universities made about $128 million.

Given those numbers, it's nice to know that they managed to save some crumbs for the guys who actually played the games.

And for anyone who may be wondering about the players on teams that didn't appear in bowl games this season, have no fear: Under NCAA rules, those schools were permitted to give each senior gifts worth $325 and each underclassman gifts worth $175.

A Happy New Year, indeed.