Survivor Edge of Extinction: Sia replaces Sprint by awarding Rick $100k

Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Pop star Sia continues to show her generosity and love for the game by gifting three castaways during and after the Survivor: Edge of Extinction reunion.

Warning: Spoilers from the Survivor: Edge of Extinction finale are ahead!

Remember the Sprint Player of the Season Award? It began in All-Stars, but ever since Survivor: China, a $100,000 prize would be awarded to the “fan favorite” based on the votes of viewers. That ended 12 seasons ago in Caramoan. However, that hasn’t stopped Sia, who is a big Survivor fan, from rewarding certain players that she enjoyed watching during the Edge of Extinction finale.

At the reunion, Jeff Probst announced that Sia was giving $100,000 to Rick Devens. She tweeted out later how much she appreciated his gameplay, comparing him to Boston Rob. Rick was the clear fan favorite this season playing an entertaining game, so it’s nice to see him receive recognition for his efforts.

Sia didn’t stop there. If you were wondering about that awkward moment when Jeff was teasing Joe about cutting his hair, it all makes sense now. Sia offered Joe $15,000 if he cut his hair and donated it to a wig-making charity for children fighting cancer. Joey Amazing accepted the challenge, only on the condition that he would donate the money to charity.

Sia still wasn’t done with her generous gifts, as she tweeted that she would be giving Aurora $15,000 as well for making it through the foster care system. At least someone thoroughly enjoyed this season! 

This isn’t the first time Sia has shown her love for Survivor castaways. This all started when she gifted Tai Trang $50,000 dollars both to his bank account and to an animal charity of his choice. She also gave Donathan Hurley and Davie Rickenbacker $14,000 each.

There doesn’t seem to be any specific criteria to the “Sia Award”. She either enjoyed how they played or respected the challenges they had to overcome in their lives. From a fans’ perspective, this is such a cool idea.

We all have our own personal favorite castaways that we root for, but most of the time, they don’t end up winning. Imagine being able to personally reward that person for their performance! In my opinion, what Sia has done is far more interesting than the Sprint Award. She’s not doing this because she has to, it’s clearly out of her want and her appreciation for the game and the players, which makes this “award” all the more worthwhile.