I didn't know that 3rd place got $.
When Tom was on the pole, ready to accept Ian's offer, he said to Ian that he would be forfeiting $100,000. He said that's not chump change and could pay for his college.
Where did you hear that 3rd gets $85,000?
Several seasons back I heard that all the players of Survivor receive some kind of payment depending on how long they stay in the game. I believe it starts out around $10,000 and gets higher as the game progresses. This is just heresay though, I never verified it.