.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second field goal to mark college soccer's initial large distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a win they'll be actually celebrating for several years ahead. For the Fighting Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a little university coming from a significantly substandard conference was a shame for Notre Dame.Especially due to the fact that they spent NIU $1.4 thousand to perform it.This sparkles a light on among the longest and also very most expensive heritages in university football: promise video games. They are actually likewise called "cash video games," "payday games," or, as I such as to call all of them, "purchase weeks." An expensive (as well as unsafe) traditionFor decades, in the very first couple of weeks of the period, primary university soccer institutions have paid out much smaller colleges ahead to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, greater than $35 million was devoted around at the very least 55 warranty activities, according to Face Workplace Sports. Alabama wrote the largest examination to its own rival, Western Kentucky, for a monstrous $1.9 thousand. WKU lost that game 63-- 0, yet they perhaps attacked the count on the bus adventure home and very likely won't think twice about it.In Week 2, three institutions-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and Utah State-- received payments larger than NIU's $1.4 million. They dropped through a mixed credit rating of 156-- 3, but they took home a total of $4.85 million in the process.It's normally a bargain for each staffs. The little universities obtain an income, the major schools receive one more home activity to dairy gameday earnings. The small school gets to play on the large stage as well as receive national exposure, the significant one gets a dish on the timetable to begin the year in a sporting activity with no preseason. Therefore all's well as well as excellent until the lower staff decides to show out as well as pull the distress.