Marcus Freeman evaluates Notre Dame's place in NIL space
Since last year’s whirlwind National Signing Day, Notre Dame made a big move in the NIL space. In May, the university made the Friends of the University of Notre Dame (FUND) collective its official NIL sponsor — a step toward staying competitive in the landscape.
This time around, National Signing Day was much quieter for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish. When it comes to NIL’s role in keeping the 2024 recruiting class together, he pointed out the FUND as a key part of keeping Notre Dame atop the college football landscape.
In the ever-changing world of NIL, Freeman said a strong collective is essential to keep up with the times.
“Our collective, the FUND, has been tremendous,” Freeman said. “They’ve been committed to making sure that this football program and this university can continue to compete for championships. They do it in such a unique way, in the Notre Dame way. I am extremely pleased with what our collective, the FUND, has done.
“What they continue to do, the investments in our athletics program and the ability to continue to compete — not just in the present, but in the future as NIL continues to change. There will be change, I’m sure, in the future. But the group is committed to making sure we are in a position to compete for championships.”
The FUND collective launched in April 2022, spearheaded by former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. He, along with three other board members, got IRS approval later to operate as a public charity that is exempt under IRS Section 501(c)(3).
It’s not the only NIL collective at Notre Dame, though. Golden Touch partnered with WME Sports in late August and, in November, held an event to bring athletes and brands together. Notre Dame’s third collective, Irish United, focuses on men’s basketball and was co-founded by Fighting Irish leading shot-blocker Jordan Cornette.
Notre Dame made a big splash in the transfer portal this year, as well, landing former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Not only is he the No. 9-ranked player to enter the portal so far this cycle, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings, but he’s also one of the highest-profile transfers.
Leonard has an On3 NIL Valuation of $912,000, which ranks as the ninth-highest of any transfer during the 2024 cycle thus far. For comparison, only Sam Hartman had a higher NIL Valuation on the 2023 roster at $1.2 million — and that number increased by 14% after he found early success with the Fighting Irish.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.