Notre Dame is not among the highest top-10 spenders in college football
College football has made a huge evolution over the past few years with the adaptation of Name, Image and Likeness, with more teams opening up the pocketbooks for players, something that Notre Dame has been a bit reluctant to do.
Yes, many of the Irish players have NIL deals, and are getting paid a good amount to play in South Bend, but according to a survey done by On3's Pete Nakos (subscription required), Notre Dame is not near the top of the biggest spenders list in the sport. The highest was Texas, followed by Texas Tech (who has gotten more than a few commitment from players that previously wouldn't have considered them), Ohio State, Oregon and Texas A&M.
The Irish are on the list, but tied for No. 17, meaning they don't spend nearly as much as some of the other schools across the country. Multiple teams in the top-10 didn't even make the College Football Playoff last year, like Texas Tech, the Aggies, Miami, USC, Michigan and Auburn.
It goes to show you that Notre Dame isn't just throwing around NIL funds, they're recruiting players who they believe will utilize everything that the program has to offer, which is clearly more in future earnings than in the present.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Notre Dame Opponent Coaching Hot Seat Grades According To CBS Sports
Notre Dame Opponent Coaching Hot Seat Grades According To CBS Sports originally appeared on Athlon Sports. CBS Sports released a grading scale for all 136 FBS coaches and where they ranked on the 'hot seat' heading into the 2025 season. Every year, without fail, there are coaches who work their way in or out of the hot seat discussion. Here is a breakdown of CBS Sports grading scale: Advertisement 5: Win or be let go 4 - 4.99: Start improving now 3 -3.99: Pressure is mounting 2 - 2.99: All now 1 - 1.99: Safe and secure 0 - 0.99: Untouchable All 12 of Notre Dame's regular season opponents live on this scale between 0.8 and 4.99; let's take a look at where these coaches fall on this grading scale broken down by quarters of the season. Quarter One Coaches Mario Cristobal, Miami - 2.56 Mike Elko, Texas A&M - 1.67 Barry Odom, Purdue - 1.0 All three of these coaches are at varying spots in their tenure with their respective programs. Odom was just hired for the Boilermakers and is gearing up for his first season in West Lafayette. He came from UNLV where they had one of their best seasons in recent memory. Advertisement Elko took over for the Aggies last fall and went 8-5 in his first season at College Station. The former Notre Dame defensive coordinator will square off with the Irish in South Bend in week three of the college football season and will look to build on his first year at the helm. Cristobal led Miami to a 10-3 record last year and if it weren't for a collapse in November, we would likely be talking about the Hurricanes as one of the teams who made the first ever 12 team College Football Playoffs. He holds the highest ranking of the trio and will have to put his team back in contention for a playoff bid after losing some impactful production from 2024. Quarter Two Coaches Sam Pittman, Arkansas - 4.22 Spencer Danielson, Boise State - 0.89 Dave Doeren, NC State - 3.0 Advertisement Pittman has the highest grade amongst Notre Dame opponents. He's had a lack luster couple of seasons with the Razorbacks and is sitting at an overall record of 30-31. Pittman had his last nine win season back in 2021, since then he's gone 7-6. 4-8 and 7-6. With another daunting schedule on the horizon that includes Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU and Texas, Pittman will have to rally his troops. Danielson has the lowest grade amongst Notre Dame opponents. He took over as the interim head coach in 2023 and went 3-1. Last season, he led Boise State to a 12-2 record and a conference championship win as well as a bye in the first ever 12 team College Football Playoff. Danielson's position at Boise State is more than secure heading into the 2025 season. Doeren has been one of the more interesting coaches to follow in the FBS. He's heading into year 13 at the helm for the Wolfpack and has only had three losing seasons in 2013, 2019 and last season at 6-7. However, he's never encompassed the 10 win mark and hasn't won in the post season since 2017. Doeren is sitting at an 87-65 overall record with NC State and will have to have a bounce back year in 2025, something he's done repeatedly over his career. Quarter Three Coaches Lincoln Riley, USC - 3.33 Bill O'Brien, Boston College - 1.56 Brian Newberry, Navy - 1.22 Advertisement Riley has the second highest grade amongst Notre Dame opponents. He took over the Trojans program in 2022 and led USC to an 11-3 record behind a stellar performance from his Heisman winning quarterback. Since 2022 however, Riley and the Trojans have steadily regressed as a program. In 2023 USC went 8-5 and last season they went 7-6 in their first year in the Big Ten. This is a big season for Riley, and the task won't get easier seeing that they play Notre Dame, Illinois, Nebraska and Oregon on the road and have home contests against Michigan and Iowa this season. O'Brien took over the Eagles last season and went 7-6. Some may not view that as an overly impressive first year, but Boston College was a few plays away here and there from potentially being 8-5 or even 9-4. All of their losses were competitive, even their 'blowout' loss to Virginia Tech which was a 28-21 ball game heading into the fourth quarter. With a new quarterback under center who will likely fit his play calling style, the Eagles may be an underrated team in the ACC heading into November. Newberry ended last season in dramatic fashion. After starting the season 6-0, they dropped three of their next four games including a 51-14 loss to Notre Dame and a 35-0 loss to Tulane. After quarterback Blake Horvath returned to health, the Midshipmen ended the season on a high note. They knocked off Army in a 31-13 rout and went on to beat Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl 21-20. Newberry returns a very experienced roster in 2025 and has a chance to be the group of five bid in this years playoffs. Quarter Four Coaches Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh - 2.56 Fran Brown, Syracuse - 1.0 Frank Reich, Stanford - 3.22 Advertisement I don't look too much into Reich's grade on this scale. He's taking over as the interim head coach for a Stanford program who lost 27 players to the transfer portal this past offseason and have yet to hire an athletic director. Football General Manager Andrew Luck stated they are close to hiring one but it's still a few weeks away. The Cardinal went 3-9 last season, anything above that with their roster should be considered a win. Narduzzi is heading into his 11th year at the helm for the Panthers. During his tenure, they've only had two losing seasons in 2017 and 2023 and have been at .500 or above in every other season. Last year, they started out the season 7-0 and found themselves ranked in the Top 25. After an unfortunate injury to their starting quarterback, they ended the season on a six game losing streak. The floor and ceiling for this Panthers team is a very wide margin, but if Narduzzi can build off of last season, Pitt will be one of Notre Dame's toughest opponents down the stretch. Brown has turned around the Syracuse program after an electric 10-3 season. The Orange had one of the best passing offenses in the country last year and spent some of the season ranked in the Top 25. Brown and the Orange effectively ended Miami's chances of making the playoffs last year with a 42-38 victory in the last week of the regular season. They also knocked off Georgia Tech 31-28 in week two and UNLV in a 44-41 shoot out that went into overtime. Other Notable Grades I'm sure you're wondering where Notre Dame's head coach ranks amongst the other 136 FBS coaches on this scale. Marcus Freeman is in a three-way tie for the lowest grade per CBS Sports with a 0.11 which is also held by Georgia's Kirby Smart and Army's Jeff Monken. These three coaches are considered the 'most untouchable' by CBS Sports heading into the 2025 season. Here are a few other notable coaching grades: Advertisement Dabo Swinney, Clemson - 0.22 Dan Lanning, Oregon - 0.22 Steve Sarkisian, Texas - 0.44 Ryan Day, Ohio State - 0.89 Matt Rhule, Nebraska - 2.11 Kalen DeBoer, Alabama - 2.33 Brian Kelly, LSU - 3.33 Mike Norvell, Florida State - 3.33 Brent Venables, Oklahoma - 4.67 Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge Irish Breakdown Content 2025 Depth Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense 2024 Recruiting Class 2023 Recruiting Class 2022 Recruiting Class ——————— Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more. Advertisement BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Join the Irish Breakdown community! Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5 Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
College Football expert believes the time is now for the Oklahoma Sooners
It's no secret. The 2025 season is a massive one for the Oklahoma Sooners. After a disappointing 2024 season that saw OU go 6-7 for the second time in three years, the 2025 season is all about evaluating how the systems in place are working and if they, or the personnel in charge of them, need to be changed. For those reasons, and more, it's easy to say that the Sooners are on the clock in 2025. That's exactly what Josh Pate, who hosts "Josh Pate's College Football Show" had to say last week. He took the time to outline a few major programs that are facing a big year, and illustrated why he thinks they are on the clock. Oklahoma was one of those programs, with Pate detailing the urgency of the situation in Norman. "Brent Venables and Oklahoma have to win this year, or they could be looking for a new head coach," Pate said. "And I think that's fair. I think it's very fair. I don't know how you say otherwise. I mean, he's had three years now. This will be his fourth year. There's no sanctions there. There have been some questionable hires and then to their credit they hit the dump button and now at offensive coordinator you go and you get Ben Arbuckle and his quarterback (John Mateer) from Washington State and that's who you've hitched your wagon to. You don't get to screw up multiple coordinator hires at this level. You just don't get to do it. The stakes are too high. The pay is too high. All of that's fair." Pate went into specifics about where the Sooners need to improve, saying he believed Venables would have the defense right again in 2025, but the other side of the ball has to be way better. "Offensive line's got to be way better," Pate said. "Quarterback position's got to be way better, offensive coordinator. The offensive product has got to be way better. They got a tough schedule to face. I don't think anyone is saying College Football Playoff or bust, but they better be noticeably improved this year. I think they will be, but they better be. They're on the clock for that." The offensive coordinator and quarterback duo of Seth Littrell and Jackson Arnold wasn't the answer for Oklahoma last year, but the folks in charge believe in the men they chose as replacements. Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer put up big numbers at Washington State together last year, and their familiarity with each other will benefit the Sooners. Pate is correct in saying that it's fair for Venables to be coaching for his job in 2025. OU's recruiting has improved since the Lincoln Riley days, but their win-loss record has not. Venables' Sooners have backed themselves into a corner in 2025. They'd better show marked improvement this year. Otherwise, there will be some difficult discussions ahead. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Q&A: Comedian Shane Gillis on hosting the ESPYs after his best sports year ever
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On Wednesday night, Shane Gillis will celebrate the greatest sports year of his life. He'll also celebrate the year in sports for everybody else while hosting the ESPYs at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). From lifting the Lombardi Trophy at the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl afterparty to watching Notre Dame's run to the national championship game up close, Gillis lived an almost perfect sports fan dream last fall. In between, he filmed Season 2 of 'Tires' on Netflix, was cast in the Madden movie and hosted 'Saturday Night Live.' There's also his international standup comedy tour that will stop at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 6. Advertisement And you probably remember his Under Armour commercial praying for Notre Dame to win the national championship. 'I was surprised Notre Dame allowed that,' Gillis said. 'They're modernizing a little.' The Athletic caught up with Gillis on preparing to host the ESPYs and reliving moments of last football season. Note: Conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Hosting the ESPYs after that last football season, how much of the intro will just be Notre Dame and Philadelphia Eagles highlights? If I have any control over it, that'd be great. If I can pick the highlights, it will just be Eagles, Notre Dame, also some Phillies. That would be nice. Knowing the teams that you follow as a sports fan, was last year the greatest sports year of your life? It was definitely the best I've ever had, but it could have been the greatest of all time if there's only a few more minutes on that Ohio State game. I don't know if a few more minutes would have helped, but you know what I mean. Why did you want to take on the ESPYs, and considering you're an Eagles fan, would Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs be an easy mark in an opening monologue? (Laughs) The reason I wanted to take it on was Norm Macdonald. He's the best ever, and he did it, and his monologue was one of my favorites. You've talked about what it's like seeing Caitlin Clark at your shows or sitting courtside with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. At what point does it stop being a thing when you're seeing all these star athletes at your events? You're the sports fan, but sometimes they're there to see you. For some reason with athletes, it doesn't go away. I can meet a famous actor or a famous comedian, and I'm usually pretty relaxed about it. But then I'll meet Michael Phelps on a plane and I'm like, 'Oh my God.' The first time I met Aaron Judge, I couldn't talk. I don't know why. I get starstruck by that. I didn't think Caitlin Clark was going to be starstuck. I was, which was pretty funny. Steph Curry, that was awesome. Advertisement So to be in a theater with all of them at the same time… I'm gonna be too focused on my monologue to care at that point, but maybe after the show I'll be thinking about it, depending on how the show goes. If it's bad, I'm gonna get out of there. But that's another thing, once you start to get to know these guys, you start feeling like you're less of a fan as far as like, I'm not gonna ever sit around and be like, that guy sucks, I hate that guy. Before, I would say that because I didn't know anybody. Even before the Steph Curry thing, I was like, I don't like Steph Curry, he's a … Then you meet him and you're like holy s—, Steph Curry is incredible. So there's a little bit of, 'Are you gonna make fun of this athlete?' Probably not going to make fun of somebody who's dedicated their life to something. I'm not gonna go up there and say, 'You stink.' Is there anybody you haven't met that you want to? Tom Brady would be cool to meet. I just recently met Charles Barkley. That was awesome. He was always one I wanted to meet. What sticks with you most about Notre Dame's season having grown up on Irish football in Pennsylvania? The season was crazy. I brought my dad and my friends, and I was with Johnny Manziel watching the game in Texas A&M. After the game, they were like, 'Coach Freeman wants you to go to the locker room.' So I was in the locker room after the win, and it was amazing. And then Week 2, Northern Illinois happens, and I thought it was a program ended. I was like, this is going to be five more years of rebuilding. The whole year was incredible. But by the time the playoffs came around, we were filming Season 2 of 'Tires.' So we were just watching the games there, which is really fun. We had all our friends over to watch the Georgia game. The Georgia game, how nice was that? That first series on defense, oh my God, this is different, I'm used to them getting killed in this game, and they're faster. Then Penn State, that was the biggest win for me because I grew up in central Pennsylvania, where everyone's either Notre Dame or Penn State. And they never really ever get to play, and all my friends are Penn State fans, so that was particularly nice. Especially the first half, they were texting me, because a bunch of them were in Miami, and they were talking a lot of s—. Perfect. Perfect ending. What were the moments during the Eagles' season that stuck with you the most? I was at the game when Saquon hurdled that guy. I saw it live, and that's the most incredible play I've ever seen. I've watched football my whole life. I've never seen someone do that. That's insane. He had so many really incredible moments. The Super Bowl was wonderful. They just killed the Chiefs. At the beginning of the game, I remember there being a terrible pass interference call. And I was like, 'Oh, this is going to happen again.' And then they took the refs out of the game. Not much they could do. When was sports, like, your thing? I know you played high school football, but that's different than fandom being so tied to your identity. I guess that's just how I was raised. That's how my dad was. That's how all my friends are because all my friends play football. I was just raised that way. My dad watched sports every day. And what else is there to do? I don't get it. We're watching sports.
