Notre Dame football: TV deal would thwart Irish joining a conference

There has been a lot of talk surrounding Notre Dame football joining a conference, but a new TV deal would stop that train right in its tracks.

The Notre Dame football team is not only one of the great college football programs in the country but a national brand. Though there has not been a national title team in quite some time, the Irish are still arguably the most popular team in the sport, and their fandom can be found on multiple continents.

In recent weeks, we have seen some huge programs decide to leave their current conferences and join others, including Notre Dame football rival, USC. Because of this, there has been plenty of speculation that the Irish could end up joining a conference, shedding their Independent status, and possibly heading to the Big Ten.

However, this week, it emerged that the Notre Dame football program is looking to get a big bump in television money, and if they get it, you can kiss the chances of them joining a Power 5 conference goodbye.

Notre Dame football to get $75 million in television revenue?

Dennis Dodd from CBSSports.com put out a piece that stated the Irish are looking for $75 million in annual media rights, a huge bump from their current contract of $15 million. NBC has held the rights to telecast Notre Dame football games for over 30 years, and for the most part, the Irish have put a winner on the field every year.

To get this kind of deal done, Power 5 conferences would have to ‘shoulder’ Notre Dame football games according to Dodd, which means play before or after the Irish contest. If this deal does get done, the Irish would remain Independent, and that is a good or bad thing depending on who you ask.

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The current deal does not expire until 2025, so there is no rush to get something done, but there could be a rush for the Irish to decide whether or not they join a conference. They are considered the Golden Goose by all Power 5 conferences, but for now, the Irish will remain Independent for the foreseeable future.