Notre Dame exploit little known college football rule to pocket $18m more than CFP winners Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the first-ever College Football Playoff National Champions of the 12-team format. On Monday night, the Buckeyes clinched another national title after holding off a spirited comeback from Notre Dame to seal a 34-23 victory in the national championship. The Buckeyes have won their first national title since 2014Getty “It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations, and with the point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out [they] just kept swinging and kept fighting,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. It’s Ohio State’s ninth national title, and its first since 2014. They won the national championship with one of the highest NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payrolls of any college football team — reported to be around $20 million. But the real financial winners of the CFP final are the Fighting Irish, who will earn $20 million – ironically – just for making the national title. They received $4 million for qualifying for the CFP, $4 million for advancing to the quarterfinals, $6 million for making the semifinals and $6 million for reaching the national championship game, with no additional payout given to the winner. That’s around $18 million more than the Buckeyes, who will only earn around $2-2.5 million for winning the national title due to their Big Ten Conference status. The reason? The Irish program having independent football status. The purse for securing a national title berth is usually shared out among the winning school’s conference, but the Fighting Irish are not part of any conference and so don’t have to share their postseason earnings with any other school. Notre Dame’s independence as a school has long been the subject of much debate. It stands independently because way back in the 1990s it opted to sign its own broadcast agreement with NBC to air home games. This was at a time when most other teams were part of conferences and were cutting TV broadcast deals for their games. The Marcus Freeman-led program will still make $20m – around $18m more than Ohio StateGetty Notre Dame’s status as an independent school means it doesn’t have to share its CFP earnings with the rest of its conferenceGetty Notre Dame’s history and prestige in college football has ultimately afforded them more flexibility and independence than other programs, meaning the university can line up games against A-list teams from many different conferences. Crucially, it means they also get to keep 100 percent of their CFP earnings. Compare that with Ohio State, who are part of the NCAA Big Ten Conference, and has to split payouts evenly among the 17 other schools in the conference, hence them only netting around $2-2.5 million after Monday’s win. However, being part of a conference also comes with its benefits as well — the most important of which 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, doesn’t have that security blanket, and basically have to win consistently to ensure they really see the big bucks. They can only make a maximum of $18 million, and that’s only if they make the 12-team playoff, which isn’t a given season in, season out. While Ohio State are celebrating a title, Notre Dame are celebrating a cash windfall, but the wait for a Fighting Irish National Championship will go on for at least another year. The school last won it all back in 1988 under Lou Holtz. Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league. Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across the very latest NFL news with exclusive access and our weekly ‘Rundown’ review show.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the first-ever College Football Playoff National Champions of the 12-team format.
On Monday night, the Buckeyes clinched another national title after holding off a spirited comeback from Notre Dame to seal a 34-23 victory in the national championship.
“It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations, and with the point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out [they] just kept swinging and kept fighting,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said.
It’s Ohio State’s ninth national title, and its first since 2014. They won the national championship with one of the highest NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payrolls of any college football team — reported to be around $20 million.
But the real financial winners of the CFP final are the Fighting Irish, who will earn $20 million – ironically – just for making the national title.
They received $4 million for qualifying for the CFP, $4 million for advancing to the quarterfinals, $6 million for making the semifinals and $6 million for reaching the national championship game, with no additional payout given to the winner.
That’s around $18 million more than the Buckeyes, who will only earn around $2-2.5 million for winning the national title due to their Big Ten Conference status.
The reason? The Irish program having independent football status.
The purse for securing a national title berth is usually shared out among the winning school’s conference, but the Fighting Irish are not part of any conference and so don’t have to share their postseason earnings with any other school.
Notre Dame’s independence as a school has long been the subject of much debate.
It stands independently because way back in the 1990s it opted to sign its own broadcast agreement with NBC to air home games.
This was at a time when most other teams were part of conferences and were cutting TV broadcast deals for their games.
Notre Dame’s history and prestige in college football has ultimately afforded them more flexibility and independence than other programs, meaning the university can line up games against A-list teams from many different conferences.
Crucially, it means they also get to keep 100 percent of their CFP earnings.
Compare that with Ohio State, who are part of the NCAA Big Ten Conference, and has to split payouts evenly among the 17 other schools in the conference, hence them only netting around $2-2.5 million after Monday’s win.
However, being part of a conference also comes with its benefits as well — the most important of which 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, doesn’t have that security blanket, and basically have to win consistently to ensure they really see the big bucks.
They can only make a maximum of $18 million, and that’s only if they make the 12-team playoff, which isn’t a given season in, season out.
While Ohio State are celebrating a title, Notre Dame are celebrating a cash windfall, but the wait for a Fighting Irish National Championship will go on for at least another year.
The school last won it all back in 1988 under Lou Holtz.
Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook
Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league.
Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across the very latest NFL news with exclusive access and our weekly ‘Rundown’ review show.
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