Football
Marcus Freeman on revenue sharing era at Notre Dame: ‘You’re going to get paid just as well’
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman on new Shields Family Hall
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman explains the ‘vision’ behind new Shields Family Hall that will augment the Guglielmino football building
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman had a message Friday for those wondering if the Irish would be able to keep pace in a college sports landscape that could soon include revenue sharing of roughly $20 million annually for athletes at major programs.
“You’re going to get paid just as well at Notre Dame as anywhere else in the country,” Freeman said during a 50-minute discussion at Notre Dame Stadium with local reporters. “We’re going to be great. We’re in a great situation here. I couldn’t be more excited for where our athletic program will be amongst college athletics programs.”
According to the $2.7 billion agreement announced May 23, the NCAA will compensate past and current athletes as part of the settlement of three federal antitrust cases. This also opens the door for direct involvement of university athletic departments with player compensation.
“Players shouldn’t focus on how much they’re getting paid,” Freeman said. “Just keep being a great player. You’re going to get paid as well at Notre Dame as anywhere else in the country.
“I still, in my heart of hearts, believe that you’re going to get paid based on how good of a football player you are, and that’s my message to (players): ‘Hey, it’s no different now.’ You’re making money off your name, image and likeness based off how good of a player you are, so continue to focus on that.”
Outgoing Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins issued a statement last week calling the settlement “undesirable in many respects and promising only temporary stability,” but added it was “necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics.”
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Freeman, an all-conference linebacker at Ohio State more than 15 years ago, emphasized his support for the concept of name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for college athletes.
“I think it’s really good for our players,” he said. “I’m a believer in it, and that’s the general idea. Should players be able to make money based off their name, image and likeness? Yes.”
He cautioned, however, that the exact format of revenue sharing remains a work in progress. Freeman has regular conversations with first-year Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua in that regard.
“There’s still so many open-ended avenues into how this is going to happen,” Freeman said. “That’s been my constant communication with Pete, with everybody that I’ve talked to about this. We can’t all of a sudden start making decisions based off things that aren’t even (finalized).
“The decision hasn’t been made from the Supreme Court. The courts haven’t said this is the final ruling. Are players going to get paid? Yes. How they get paid? Still to be determined. How much they get paid? To be determined.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.
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