The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program isn’t cheap. That much is clear to any observer. Clearly, the University of Notre Dame spends a lot to field a competitive roster — and that spend includes the coaching staff and facilities, too, of course.
The question is: How much does Notre Dame spend? The Athletic did what it could to find out.
Since Notre Dame is not a public university, it doesn’t disclose what it pays coaches. Moreover, no one associated with the school or its football program have publicly said what is being spent on the roster.
One general manager that The Athletic interviewed said that Notre Dame is a top spender, along with Texas Tech, LSU, Ohio State, Miami (FL) and Texas.
The Athletic’s Pete Sampson interviewed several general managers, and only one guessed that the Irish spent under $40 million. One said Notre Dame likely spent around $48 million.
Two years ago, Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the national championship game. Ohio State said publicly that its roster cost at least $20 million, and at least one GM thought Notre Dame was being outspent two-to-one by the Buckeyes. That means just two seasons ago, Notre Dame might have been spending only $10 million on its roster.
Now, one GM thinks that only LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Miami (FL), Oregon and LSU outspent Notre Dame, with LSU being the biggest spender of that group.
“I think that has changed,” one Power 4 GM told The Athletic. “I do feel like the Notre Dame program is spending at a comparable level to the biggest spenders in the game. We’re not in on a lot of same guys, not because we don’t see players the same way, it’s fishing from a different pond. If it gets down to a (recruiting target’s) top five with Notre Dame … we have not had a lot of success.”
It’s worth noting that a five-star recruit will cost at least $1 million — and perhaps closer to $2 million for a premium position like quarterback or defensive end.
The Athletic goes on to do some math. The outlet guesses that Notre Dame is paying about $10 million for quarterback CJ Carr and transfer portal additions, and another $10 million for its top-five recruiting class. It also figures the rest of Notre Dame’s money is spent on an elite defense and an offense that has relatively few stars but has a deep bench of very good players.
You can see how the folks there got to $40 million by reading the whole thing.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: What does Notre Dame’s roster cost?
Reporting by Tim Healey, Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
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By Tim Healey, Fighting Irish Wire | USA TODAY Network
