.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second field goal to mark university regulation football's initial large distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a succeed they'll be commemorating for years to follow. For the Dealing with Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To drop the home opener to a tiny college coming from a greatly substandard event was a shame for Notre Dame.Especially since they paid NIU $1.4 thousand to perform it.This sparkles an illumination on among the longest as well as very most pricey traditions in university soccer: warranty video games. They're likewise called "amount of money video games," "paycheck video games," or even, as I as if to phone all of them, "purchase weeks." A pricey (as well as risky) traditionFor years, in the first couple of weeks of the period, primary university football institutions have paid much smaller universities to find to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, greater than $35 thousand was actually devoted throughout a minimum of 55 promise activities, according to Face Office Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest inspection to its opponent, Western Kentucky, for a monstrous $1.9 million. WKU dropped that game 63-- 0, yet they probably struck the trust the bus ride home and very likely won't hesitate about it.In Week 2, 3 colleges-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah State-- obtained payments bigger than NIU's $1.4 million. They shed through a consolidated credit rating of 156-- 3, however they took home a total of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's normally a good deal for both staffs. The small schools acquire an income, the big institutions get an additional home video game to dairy gameday income. The tiny university reaches play on the big stage as well as acquire nationwide visibility, the major one acquires a dish on the routine to start the year in a sporting activity without preseason. Therefore all's properly and also great up until the smaller group chooses to show out and pull the trouble.