In case you had any assumptions that the next conference realignment cycle might be the one when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish finally break down and join a conference as a full-time member, you can put them to bed.
NBC and Notre Dame announced Saturday that they are extending their current broadcast rights partnership through 2029. That means the arrangement, which has been in place since 1991, will now last for almost four decades.
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick made the announcement on NBC.
Jack Swarbrick announces that Notre Dame and NBC have extended their contract through 2029. ???☘️ pic.twitter.com/8FV4YIn96j
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 18, 2023
“It helps ensure our independence, and that is so important to us,” Swarbrick said.
While financials were not announced, Notre Dame’s current deal, which runs through the 2025 season, is said to be in the $25 million/year range. However, the school was said to be looking for something in the range of $75 million/year for its next deal as it attempted to stave off the need to fully join a conference. It was also reported that the school would accept something in the range of what the Big Ten and SEC schools were getting +/- $10-15 million. That would mean if they generated $50 million out of the new NBC deal, coupled with the $17 million they made from the ACC per their most recent tax filing, they’re in that ballpark.
“We are thrilled to continue our historic collaboration with our partners at NBC Sports,” said Swarbrick in a press release. “In the next generation of this partnership, we will collaborate to provide our fans even more Notre Dame content through a variety of NBCUniversal’s distribution channels while continuing to put our student-athletes and their stories at the heart of our messaging.”
As part of the deal, NBC Sports will retain broadcasting rights for all Notre Dame home football games and allow for some games to be streamed exclusively on Peacock as they have been since 2021. Peacock will also be the home of “a new, annual documentary series on Notre Dame Football, debuting in 2024.”
[NBC Sports, The Athletic]