No matter how Marcus Freeman fares as the coach of Notre Dame football, a certain wariness will always set in before guarantee games such as Saturday’s against Northern Illinois.
Two years ago this week, Marshall University collected a $1.25 million appearance fee and still left Notre Dame Stadium with a shocking 26-21 upset
victory. That game marked Freeman’s home debut after succeeding Brian Kelly and directly followed a draining road loss against No. 2 Ohio State.
This September brings a pair of so-called “buy games” against Mid-American Conference foes. According to the
contractual agreement signed on Feb. 19, 2019, a copy of which the USA Today Network received via an open-records request, the Huskies will receive $1.4
million from Notre Dame “no later than 60 days” following Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. meeting.
On Sept. 21, Miami of Ohio will travel to Notre Dame for a $1.25 million payout as stated in the May 25, 2021 agreement between the schools.
While Northern Illinois, based 156 miles to the west in DeKalb, was promised the opportunity to purchase up to 5,000
tickets, Notre Dame’s agreement with Miami of Ohio sets that figure at 2,000 tickets.
