NBC and Notre Dame are extending their broadcast rights partnership through 2029, they announced Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. Notre Dame’s current deal with NBC (scheduled to run through the 2025 season) is believed to bring in about $25 million per year for the school.
• NBC has broadcast Notre Dame football since 1991 and holds the rights to all Irish home games. September’s Ohio State-Notre Dame game was the highest-rated Notre Dame broadcast on NBC behind the 1993 “Game of the Century” against Florida State.
• Notre Dame is the fourth-most watched college football program this season, behind Colorado, Alabama and Ohio State.

What it means for Notre Dame’s independence

Simply put, Notre Dame cannot maintain its independence without an improved media rights contract with NBC. Now it appears to have one, as the sport shifts toward a “Power 2” conference structure of the Big Ten and SEC.

Notre Dame wanted its media rights revenue to be within striking distance of those leagues, with a $10-15 million gap viewed internally as a workable number. Neither Notre Dame nor NBC have disclosed the payout of this contract in the past, but for Notre Dame to come close enough to college football’s two power leagues, the Irish would need NBC to push toward the $50 million range annually. When that money is paired with the revenue generated from the ACC — Notre Dame made $17 million from the league during its most recent tax filing — it creates a path to financial competitiveness with the top two leagues in the FBS.

As Notre Dame pushes for a new football facility, an addition to the current structure, financial backing is paramount to keeping independence a viable path in the College Football Playoff era.

What they’re saying

“It helps ensure our independence, and that is so important to us,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said.

Required reading

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