CFB Mailbag: Notre Dame Cashing CFP Checks, Fans Contemplate Playoff Ticket Prices, NIL Era Sparking Truth
We have entered the final week of the college football season, with Ohio State and Notre Dame set to play for a title next Monday in Atlanta.
After what has been a wild ride that started in Dublin, Ireland, it will all come down to one final game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For the Fighting Irish, I don’t know how many folks thought they'd be in this spot following that loss to Northern Illinois in September, but here they are, on the final leg of their redemption tour.
For Ohio State, this has been one of the wildest two months in program history, following the loss to Michigan in the regular season finale. All they've done since then is play their best football of the season, and have sent fans on a rollercoaster of emotions in the process, while Ryan Day might get the last laugh.
While we wrap up college football, we are in the midst of a crazy basketball season, thanks in part to the SEC doing things we haven't seen in quite a while. But there was one coach who garnered most of the headlines this past weekend, and that was Tennessee's Rick Barnes discussing why he yanked leading-scorer Chaz Lanier from the game against Texas.
Thanks to a bevy of questions from you all these last few days, I've had to cut it down to three of the most pressing issues you all presented.
So, let's dive into this week's mailbag.
Hey Trey, thanks for the feedback. My question concerns Notre Dame and the money they’re making this postseason. How much will the school end up pocketing after this playoff run? You know others have to be agitated. Thanks!
Edward - Roanoke, Virginia
Well, Edward, Notre Dame is bringing home the bacon, as they say. The Fighting Irish received $4 million for just making the college football playoff. And, the money continued to flow for every win following the opener in South Bend. After advancing to the quarterfinals, they took home another $4 million, followed by $6 million for making the semifinals, then another $6 million for making the championship game. In total, Notre Dame will make $20 million from the playoff. They will not receive anything further if they win it all.
That's a nice $20 million paycheck that they do not have to split up with anyone else because they are classified as an independent school. For all the talk about why they need to join a conference as a full-time member, the recent influx of cash would say otherwise. Compare what Notre Dame is making to how much money Penn State and Ohio State made the Big Ten ($28 Million), and it's easy to see why folks inside the athletic department in South Bend are happy. The team they are playing, Ohio State, will pocket only slightly over $1 million because they have to split it with the other Big Ten schools.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 09: Head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with his team after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 27-24 in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on January 09, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Now, I'm not implying that this is the only reason why Notre Dame hasn’t made the jump to full-time status in the ACC, but the numbers don’t lie. And yes, other schools look at what the Irish have made and scratch their heads in disbelief. But this has always been the approach from Notre Dame. Getting their own television deals in the past from NBC, along with not having to deal with some of the nonsense opposing schools deal with from their conferences is a positive in the eyes of folks inside the athletic department. Sure, they do business with the ACC in other sports, but they are certainly cashing-in from a football standpoint.
So I am thinking about making the trip down to Atlanta for the national championship game, but tickets are so damn expensive right now. I've traveled to both bowl games and the home game, so money is a little tight. Any advice, since you make these trips and talk about ticket pricing often?
Ashley - Ohio
Ashley, you obviously follow my infatuation with ticket prices around some of these massive sporting events across college athletics. Right now, I imagine your bank account is screaming at you if you are pondering whether to travel to Atlanta this weekend. It's been an expensive postseason for fans wanting to follow their favorite team in the college football playoff. Airfare, hotels, tickets and other expenses for trips to Columbus, Pasadena and then Dallas are certainly adding up.
This is a part of the college football playoff that committee members weren’t thinking about, and I promise you they aren’t losing any sleep over it. I was stunned to see so many Ohio State fans in Dallas this past Friday, considering the weather, and traveling to the Cotton Bowl from a financial standpoint. As for tickets next Monday, they are hovering around $1650 a piece right now with six days until the game. I do think they will come down, but how much is the real question. They've only dropped $200 since the game was finalized, and if the demand is there, they won't drop much further.
I love to see fans of teams participating having a great time at these venues, and you never know when you’ll get the opportunity to witness something like this again. So, I say let it ride, but obviously look for hotels outside downtown Atlanta this weekend. It's not expensive to stay 5-15 miles from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and maybe that helps with the overall total at the end. Don't worry, there will be abundant modes of transportation for all the events going on starting Saturday.
If you can squeeze one more trip out, I look forward to seeing you in Atlanta.
Safe travels!
I appreciate all the questions this week, and if I don’t get to you, I always respond via email. So, send me anything on your mind to Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com and I’ll get back to you!
What's your honest opinion on players receiving more scrutiny from coaches and fans now that they are about to start being paid by the school itself? I saw your article on Rick Barnes and found him to be likeable. Thank You
Dennis - Cookeville, Tennessee
Yea, Rick Barnes was obviously having fun with his comments about leading-scorer Chaz Lanier not doing what he's paid to do, which is shoot the basketball. It's not as if those two don’t have a great relationship, but this is a business now, and once these players start to realize that this is going to become more common, life will be a lot easier for them.
When revenue-sharing begins next summer, and the schools are officially the ones cutting each player a check, fans will obviously have a lot more to say, along with coaches. This is already a tough situation for players, and has been for a long time. When it's not your night, it's best to stay off social media. But for these coaches, who are skirting around the topic of players being paid, it's more of them being scared to talk about it, also because they don't know what to say right now. For so long, paying players has been taboo, even though it's been going on for decades. Now that schools will be directly paying their athletes, I would imagine coaches might feel at ease to talk about some of this more often.
For Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, he's at the stage of his career where he's not going to hold back, which was evident following the win over Texas. He wasn't really laying into Chaz Lanier, as you can tell by his chuckle at the end of his answer. But, he was being honest about the situation.
Tennessee's collective paid Lanier to come in and be a superstar. That's just the truth, as with any other school having players on their rosters getting high-dollar payouts to play. If these young athletes are going to be paid six to seven figures per season, they had better be able to handle some public criticism.
I appreciate all the questions this week, and if I don’t get to you, I always respond via email. So, send me anything on your mind to Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com and I’ll get back to you!