.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second field goal to notch college regulation football's first big upset of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a gain they'll be celebrating for years to follow. For the Battling Irish, it's a season-crusher. To drop the home opener to a small college coming from an extremely substandard association was actually a humiliation for Notre Dame.Especially due to the fact that they paid out NIU $1.4 thousand to do it.This sparkles a lighting on one of the longest and most expensive traditions in university soccer: promise games. They are actually likewise called "amount of money games," "income activities," or, as I like to call them, "buy weeks." A pricey (and high-risk) traditionFor decades, in the initial couple of weeks of the season, primary university football establishments have spent smaller sized schools to follow to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, much more than $35 thousand was actually devoted across at the very least 55 promise games, according to Front Workplace Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest check to its enemy, Western Kentucky, for an enormous $1.9 million. WKU dropped that game 63-- 0, yet they perhaps attacked the rely on the bus experience home as well as most likely won't hesitate about it.In Week 2, three universities-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and also Utah State-- got payouts larger than NIU's $1.4 million. They dropped through a bundled credit rating of 156-- 3, however they take away a total of $4.85 million in the process.It's normally a bargain for each teams. The small institutions receive an income, the significant schools receive yet another home video game to dairy gameday earnings. The small school gets to play on the major phase and get national direct exposure, the large one receives a dish on the routine to begin the year in a sporting activity without preseason. So all's effectively as well as great till the smaller group makes a decision to present out and pull the distress.