Mega Millions Winning Numbers for July 21, 2026: No Winner Claims $707 Million Jackpot, Prize Rolls to Friday

No ticket matched all six numbers in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, sending the jackpot rolling into Friday's game as one of the largest prizes in the lottery's history remains unclaimed.

Tuesday's drawing carried an estimated jackpot of $707 million, with a lump-sum cash option of $307.7 million before taxes. The winning numbers drawn were 25, 37, 59, 68 and 70, with a Mega Ball of 10. No ticket matched all six numbers, meaning the jackpot will grow again before Friday's drawing.

The unclaimed prize now ranks as the ninth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, a list dominated by drawings from the past several years as the game's odds and pricing structure have shifted to produce bigger, less frequent payouts.

How we got here

The current jackpot run began after the game's most recent grand-prize winner, a ticket purchased in Ohio that claimed a $60 million prize on March 17. Since then, the jackpot has climbed drawing by drawing as ticket buyers across the country have come up short of matching all six numbers.

Mega Millions holds drawings twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Ticket sales close shortly before each drawing, though exact cutoff times vary by state; players are generally advised to purchase tickets no later than 10:45 p.m. Eastern on drawing nights to ensure their entry is counted.

How the game works

Players select five numbers from a pool of 1 through 70, plus one Mega Ball number from 1 through 24. Tickets cost $5 apiece, following a price increase from $2 that took effect in April 2025. Players also have the option to let a terminal generate random numbers for them through a quick-pick selection.

There are nine ways to win a prize in Mega Millions, ranging from $10 for matching the Mega Ball alone up to the jackpot for matching all six numbers. If no ticket matches all six, as was the case Tuesday, the jackpot rolls over and grows for the next scheduled drawing.

The overall odds of winning any prize in a given drawing are approximately 1 in 23. The odds of matching all five white balls and the Mega Ball to win the jackpot are far steeper, at roughly 1 in 302.5 million, making a jackpot win one of the rarest outcomes in American lottery play.

Winners have the choice between two payout structures: a one-time cash lump sum, typically equal to 50% to 60% of the advertised jackpot amount, or an annuitized prize paid out over 30 graduated annual installments. The Mega Millions organization notes that the annuity option is designed in part to help protect a winner's purchasing power against inflation over time, though the overwhelming majority of jackpot winners historically choose the lump-sum cash payment.

Where the jackpot ranks historically

Should a player win Friday's drawing, the resulting jackpot would join a list of the largest prizes ever awarded in Mega Millions history. The current top 10 is as follows:

The record jackpot remains $1.602 billion, won in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023. It is followed by a $1.537 billion prize claimed in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018, and a $1.348 billion jackpot won in Maine on Jan. 13, 2023. Illinois claimed a $1.337 billion prize on July 29, 2022, while California took home $1.269 billion on Dec. 27, 2024. New Jersey's $1.128 billion win on March 26, 2024, ranks sixth, followed by Michigan's $1.05 billion jackpot from Jan. 22, 2021. Texas rounds out the top eight with an $810 million win on Sept. 10, 2024. Tuesday's unclaimed $707 million prize currently sits in ninth place, just ahead of a three-way split jackpot of $656 million won across Illinois, Kansas and Maryland on March 30, 2012.

Why jackpots keep getting bigger

The recent run of billion-dollar prizes is not accidental. In 2017, Mega Millions overhauled its number format, expanding the pool of possible Mega Ball numbers and pushing the odds of winning the jackpot from roughly 1 in 259 million to about 1 in 302 million. The change in odds has meant more frequent rollovers and, correspondingly, larger jackpots by the time a winning ticket is finally sold.

Ticket prices have also climbed alongside the odds. The cost per play doubled from $1 to $2 in the years following the format change, then rose again last April to the current $5 price point. The increase came bundled with a built-in prize multiplier, which now automatically boosts non-jackpot winnings by two, three, four, five or 10 times, replacing the previous optional Megaplier add-on.

What's next

Friday's drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. Eastern time, with an updated jackpot estimate expected to be announced in the hours leading up to the draw. Ticket sales in most states will close shortly before the drawing begins, and players are encouraged to check their state lottery's specific cutoff time.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and drawings are broadcast live for players who want to watch results in real time rather than checking numbers after the fact. Whether Friday's drawing finally produces a jackpot winner or the prize continues to grow into next week remains to be seen, but for now, the game's ninth-largest jackpot in history sits unclaimed, and someone somewhere is holding a ticket that came close.