Notre Dame has extended its media-rights agreement with NBC through 2029, the school and the network announced Saturday. The deal further cements the school’s commitment to its independent status in football, ending dreams in some conferences of wooing the Fighting Irish as major realignment becomes reality in ’29.
The new agreement “very much” reinforces Notre Dame’s independence, athletic director Jack Swarbrick tells Sports Illustrated. “In some ways more than ever,” he says. “There are elements that reinforce the value of being independent and having our own broadcast partner. It was certainly our preference to stay with NBC.”
Swarbrick says that, as expected, the deal will provide significantly enhanced revenue for Notre Dame, but did not provide specific financial details. The agreement was finalized ahead of schedule by about a year, due to Big Ten expansion and NBC’s addition of other college football programming from that league. That triggered an early negotiation window between the school and the network.
