Although spoken-word poet Brandon Leake was declared the winner of America’s Got Talent season 15, he won’t see the $1 million grand prize in the form of a giant check. Many may assume that AGT winners go home with healthy bank account balances when host Terry Crews announces the million-dollar prize each week. However, the show’s winnings aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. The reality of this reality TV show’s prize is quite different from what they proclaim on the show.
Despite the fact that Brandon won’t receive the $1 million in full immediately, he proved himself by earning the title of AGT winner. During his audition, he recited a poem about his late sister, earning him the golden buzzer from judge Howie Mandel. The California native continued to wow viewers throughout the season, making it to the quarterfinals, where he recited poetry about mother love and racial injustice. His semifinal performance poem was spoken in the form of letters to his father, who wasn’t around for most of Brandon’s milestones. A poem about his daughter, which was spoken during the finals, secured his victory against the other finalists: Archie Williams, Alan Silva, Roberta Battaglia, Cristina Rae, Daneliya Tuleshova, BAD Salsa, Broken Roots, the Bello Sisters, and Kenadi Dodds.
After winning, Brandon fell to his knees as confetti drifted down from the ceiling. Terry Crews announced that Leake would receive $1 million. According to Good Housekeeping, Brandon didn’t walk away with that money on the night he won. Viewers may have missed the disclaimer that appears at the end of each episode, which states, “$1,000,000 is payable in a financial annuity over 40 years, or the contestant may choose to receive the present cash value of such annuity.” This means Brandon can choose to receive payouts of approximately $25,000 a year before taxes, over the course of 40 years, or decide to take a lump sum of about $300,000 before taxes. Neither option will equal the full $1 million, but taking the $25,000 over a few years will amount to close to it eventually. Brandon still has a lot to celebrate, as you'll see in the post below:
While he won’t receive the prize they constantly boast about, he will most likely gain considerable exposure from being on AGT and winning such a popular show. Previous winners have gone on to receive record deals, headline tours, or score parts in shows and movies. For example, 2016’s winner Grace Vanderwaal had a sold-out tour, records, a performance at the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a role in Disney film Stargirl. Brandon can use his earnings and newfound recognition to ignite his career outside of the show. Brandon has already amassed a large Instagram following. He currently has 47.9k followers.
No matter how much money he receives or how he decides to receive that cash, viewers can be sure that this America's Got Talent winner will put it to good use for either his family, his career, or his company, "Called to Move", which assists youth with personal development through the art of poetry.
Source: Good Housekeeping, Brandon Leake/Instagram