Ahead of the College Football National Championship game between Notre Dame and the Ohio State Buckeyes, an interesting discourse has emerged online. It concerns the difference in the money the two teams will make for reaching the grand stage, which is surprisingly large.
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While the seventh-seeded Notre Dame will take home the entire $20 million a team earns for making the National Championship, fellow finalists Ohio State will only net around $2-$2.5 million for the same achievement. The reason behind this discrepancy is quite simple — the Fighting Irish’s independent status.
For those out of the loop: Notre Dame is one of the last major football programs still not part of any conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are a part of the NCAA Big Ten Conference.
Being part of the Big 10, it means that the Buckeyes are obliged to share their performance bonuses with every other college in their conference. This is why the Ryan Day-led team will only net 12.5% of the total playoff pool, while Marcus Freeman’s organization gets the entire sum with no questions asked.
From the outside, Ohio State having to share the $20 million with other teams might come across as unfair, considering that it’s the Buckeyes’ hard-earned money. The $20 million payout is actually the combined sum of four monetary compensations that each team is awarded for qualifying for a certain stage in the CFP.
For instance, CFB teams get $4 million for qualifying for the playoffs. Another $4 million is added to this tally when teams make it to the quarterfinals. The $8 million tally from here on sees a $6 million increment for making it to the semifinal and the Championship game, which tallies the total earnings to $20 million.
Apart from having the privilege to keep the entire earnings with them, Notre Dame’s independent status also helps them pick their own schedule while not having to play a Conference Championship as well. Thus, it was unsurprising to hear coaches like Penn State head coach James Franklin argue how every school should be in a conference.
That said, Notre Dame has long waited to be part of a conference. However, in every part of history, their entry request has been denied. For instance, back in 1899, the Big 9 conference chose to welcome Iowa and Indiana over the Fighting Irish.
Cut to 27 years later, Notre Dame’s attempts to enter the Big 10 were then thwarted by Michigan’s Athletic Director, Fielding Yost. Fast forward to the TV rights era in the 90s and even during then, Notre Dame failed to find a home in one of the conferences.
Being part of a conference also comes with its benefits as well — the most important being guaranteed money. For example, from 2026 to 2027, each Big Ten school is guaranteed $21 million in revenue from their ESPN deal, irrespective of their presence in the 12-team bracket.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, can only make a maximum of $18 million, and that too only if they make the 12-team playoff. In simple terms, Notre Dame has to hustle hard to earn their bread, while conference teams have some room for complacency, knowing they have a minimum paycheck ready regardless of their performance.
