If you are a competitive cornhole player, it’s likely that you own at least one jersey. The average price for a league or company jersey is around $50 but there is one particular free jersey that will actually cost you thousands to get.
This jersey is not made by Polo, Versace, or Gucci. It doesn’t have diamonds lining the neck and sleeves, nor does it contain embedded gold dust in its fibers. It’s not a one-of-a-kind limited edition numbered design nor is the design desirable. And no, it’s not a signed jersey by the GOAT himself.
So what cornhole jersey are we referring to….. The ACL Top 100 Conference jersey!!
The jersey itself is free but to qualify comes at a huge price! We are going to breakdown what you need to do and why this is the most expensive free jersey!!
Table of Contents
How to earn a jersey
The ACL has 14 conferences, each of which consists of 3 or more states within an area. As you play in ACL events, you acquire points based on your division and performance. These points are accumulate and at the end of each cornhole season to make up a list of the Top 100 players in each conference.
Using the Northeast Conference as an example, to get on the top 100 last season 2022-23, you needed a minimum of 4428 points. So as we breakdown the cost of the most expensive free jersey, we will use that number. And although the points scale and requirements might be slightly different this year, lets use last season as a reference since that’s what the 4428 was based on.
Got Points?
Your points are made up of your best finishes in the following events listed below. You get get a maximum of 5000 points! We have included the maximum points you can receive in each
Buying a Membership: 1000 points
15 Locals: 450 points
6 Regional – Singles: 600 points
6 Regional – Doubles: 600 points
2 Conference/State – Singles: 400 points
2 Conference/State – Doubles: 400 points
2 Open – Singles: 600 points
2 Open – Doubles: 600 points
BONUS POINTS: 350 Points if you attend 50 or more ACL events
To achieve the highest score, participation in the Open category and a victory are essential. To provide some perspective, the gap between the first position in the Open division and the subsequent level, Advanced, is 60 points. Winning first place in the Open division grants 300 points, while in the Advanced division, it awards 240 points. Points are distributed up to the top 64 players, so even if you secure the 64th spot, Open will give you 252 points, whereas Advanced will provide 192 points.
The Real Cost of a Free Jersey
Referring to the price of something free may seem contradictory, but the reality is that nothing truly comes without a cost. For instance, even when you receive a complimentary turkey from Shop-Rite for Thanksgiving, it still necessitates spending $400 on groceries throughout November to be eligible. Therefore, let’s discuss the expense involved in accruing enough points to secure a spot in the top 100 by the season’s end and obtain a complimentary jersey!
Assuming you choose the budget-friendly option for playing cornhole, it involves attending events within a 6-hour driving distance, staying at $100 hotels, and refraining from consuming 10 beers priced at $15 each per day. Keep in mind that this approach is the most economical, as it is based on the assumption that you’ll finish in the 100th spot with 4428 points, resulting in no payouts. Therefore, all expenses will be covered by you, with no income generated.
Locals: This person attended 33 locals @ $30/each = $990
Most players have a local league or club where they can play to get their local points. Sit N Go’s at an Open also count towards local points. Travel time is usually minimal, within 30 minutes, which would equate to a couple dollars in gas plus the entry fee to play and since it’s budget cornhole, let’s assume you ate dinner and bring your own water!
Regionals: This person attended 21 regionals @ $100= $2100
Regionals are usually held within one day and most players can find them local to their area, within 1 hour drive time so lets put $5 for gas. They consist of singles, doubles and maybe a blind draw with an average cost to play singles and doubles at $60 (30/ea). And since you are there all day, factor in some food and drinks. Let’s call this one a $100 day incase you play the blind draw or decide to grab dinner with friends.
Conferences: This person attended 1 conference and 1 state championship @ $460 = $920
Conferences are usually a 2 day event and could be close to where you live or they could be hours away. For the sake of this article, lets assume you need to travel up to 3 hours away and stay overnight at a $100 hotel. Gas could be $50 round trip, $100 hotel stay, 3 meals of food and drink for 2 days could be $80/day and the cost to play the events (singles, doubles, blind draw and maybe crew cup) could run an average of $150
Opens: This person attended 2 opens @ $785 = $1570
Opens are held all over the country and usually consist of a 1-2 night stay. Not everyone will be able to find a couple close enough to drive to but if you are in the Northeast, there are usually 1 or 2 within your 6 hour drive ranging. So for gas, let’s say $120 round trip (2-3 tank fills on a small car), $200 for hotel, 3 meals of food and drink for 3 days at $80/day is $240, and the cost to play the events, singles, doubles and sit-n-go’s (plus there are Juniors, Seniors, Women’s) could run an average of $225
The REAL Cost of that Free Jersey……$5,580!!
Keep in mind, this is a minimum you may spend just to accrue enough points to earn a Free Jersey, lol. We calculated this on a budget where as many would be forced to fly to opens, stay in higher priced hotels, drink tons of overpriced alcoholic beverages, eat at expensive restaurants, etc.
Even if you do everything needed, attending the events and racking up the points, there is no guarantee you will end up in that top 100 list. And since the points are basically useless, you just wasted a boat-load of money and have no free jersey and nothing to show for it!!
There are also some important factors that are priceless such as time away from family, missing out an personal events such as a friends wedding, birth of a child, death of a loved one, etc. Then there are things that you could put a price tag on such as lost revenue from missing a day of work to travel, wear and tear on your vehicle, repairs, insurance, etc.
* All data is based on the 2022-2023 ACL Players Guide. Read the new 2023-24 ACL players guide
