.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second field goal to notch college football's first significant distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a succeed they'll be actually celebrating for several years to find. For the Battling Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a little institution coming from an extremely substandard conference was a discomfort for Notre Dame.Especially since they paid out NIU $1.4 million to perform it.This sparkles an illumination on some of the lengthiest as well as most pricey practices in university soccer: assurance games. They're additionally gotten in touch with "money video games," "salary video games," or, as I as if to contact all of them, "acquire full weeks." A costly (as well as unsafe) traditionFor years, in the first handful of weeks of the season, primary college football establishments have spent much smaller colleges to come to play them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, much more than $35 million was actually invested across at the very least 55 guarantee games, depending on to Front end Workplace Sports. Alabama composed the largest inspection to its own challenger, Western side Kentucky, for a monstrous $1.9 thousand. WKU shed that video game 63-- 0, yet they probably attacked the bank on the bus ride home and probably won't reconsider it.In Week 2, 3 universities-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah Condition-- obtained payouts much bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They shed by a bundled credit rating of 156-- 3, however they take away a total of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's generally a bargain for both staffs. The small schools obtain a paycheck, the significant colleges acquire an additional home game to milk gameday revenue. The small university gets to use the large phase as well as receive nationwide direct exposure, the large one receives a cupcake on the timetable to begin the year in a sport with no preseason. Thus all's effectively and great up until the lesser group chooses to reveal out as well as take the distress.