.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to scratch college football's first huge distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a gain they'll be commemorating for several years to find. For the Battling Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a little college coming from a greatly inferior association was a shame for Notre Dame.Especially because they paid NIU $1.4 million to do it.This radiates a lighting on some of the lengthiest as well as very most expensive heritages in university football: promise games. They are actually additionally phoned "money games," "income video games," or, as I as if to call them, "purchase weeks." A costly (and high-risk) traditionFor decades, in the first handful of full weeks of the period, primary college soccer organizations have actually spent smaller sized universities to come to play them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 thousand was devoted around a minimum of 55 guarantee video games, according to Front end Office Athletics. Alabama wrote the biggest check to its own challenger, Western Kentucky, for a tremendous $1.9 million. WKU lost that game 63-- 0, however they possibly struck the bank on the bus experience home and most likely won't think twice about it.In Week 2, three schools-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah Condition-- received payouts much bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They dropped by a consolidated credit rating of 156-- 3, but they take away an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's normally a bargain for each crews. The little universities get a payday, the big schools receive an additional home activity to milk gameday profits. The tiny institution comes to play on the large stage and get nationwide exposure, the big one gets a dish on the timetable to start the year in a sporting activity with no preseason. Therefore all's well and great up until the lesser group chooses to present out and draw the distress.