Sticker Shock: Notre Dame Paid Northern Illinois $1.4M and Lost

In college football parlance, they’re often called “cupcake games.”

Every season, Power 5 schools pay Group of 5 or FCS schools a guaranteed payout to travel to play the host school. Week 1 of this CFB season saw 55 such games, with a total of $35 million in guaranteed payouts.

But in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame didn’t get a cupcake opponent. NIU upset the Fighting Irish 16—14, the biggest upset in NIU’s history, after the Huskies blocked a game-winning field goal attempt by the Irish. Notre Dame had paid NIU $1.4 million to play the game.

NIU plays in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), while Notre Dame is independent (and has one of the biggest fanbases in the country, enough that the school boasts its own TV contract with NBC).

Week 0 of the season saw a similar upset in a guarantee game, when New Mexico paid Montana State $360,000 and lost 34—31. But that payout hardly compares to the $1.4 million Notre Dame paid NIU.

And $1.4 million still doesn’t crack the top 10 largest guarantee game payouts this season. Three games this season tie for the largest payout at $1.9 million: Alabama vs Western Kentucky (Aug. 31, Alabama won 63—0); Auburn vs New Mexico (coming up on Sept. 14); and Georgia vs UMass (Nov. 23).