Notre Dame’s refusal to join a conference is padding their bank account in CFP
Notre Dame has long been scrutinized for not joining one of the Power 4 conferences. They don’t play the schedule an SEC team would and avoid the occasional Big Ten clash throughout the season thanks to being an independent team.
And truthfully, in today’s age of name, image and likeness, as well as coughing up millions of dollars to build a championship-caliber roster, Notre Dame would be ridiculous to start sharing some of the money coming in for their playoff run.
According to Joe Pompliano, who covers sports and business, the Fighting Irish pocketed $20 million for reaching the College Football Playoff national championship game. And because they don’t share revenue with a conference, that money is theirs to keep.
Now that Notre Dame is in the national championship game, they are guaranteed to take home $20 million from this year's College Football Playoff. And since they are an independent football program, they get to keep every single dollar of that for themselves. Crazy.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 10, 2025
It’s a lucrative yet brilliant move in modern day college football. They have no reason to jump to a big conference. Especially when they can continue to compete in the CFP without it.
They may not get an automatic bid as a conference champion, but they still find a way to get in and beat the heavyweights.
Notre Dame has no reason to rush to a power conference after massive College Football Playoff pay day
Notre Dame’s biggest knock and why it would benefit from a conference affiliation is exposure. They have an exclusive deal with NBC to air their games. But NBC isn’t ESPN or CBS. They get on TV, but they often play inferior opponents hardly anybody cares to watch.
It’s a double-edged sword though. Because if they saw value in more TV exposure, they could jump to a conference eager to bolster their conference strength. It also means they’d be leaving millions of dollars on the table.
And it’s clear that first year athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, is happy with where Notre Dame is at.
“We are now in as good of a position as we've ever been in the modern era of college football to be independent," Bevacqua said in an ESPN story back in March 2024.
It’s true. The Fighting Irish couldn’t be in a better position to succeed and thrive in the current state of college football. Just look at this year’s playoff run. It also means though, they can’t afford to lose games during the season either.
Their independent status puts them lower than a Group of 5 team as they don’t get an automatic bid into the CFP. It also makes them one of the richest teams in college football.
feed