Former Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was back in South Bend over the weekend to see his former team having a intra-squad scrimmage.
He wasn’t the only former Irish star in attendance, but he might have made the most noise with his comments about his pay difference between Notre Dame and the NFL. After getting drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the No. 6 round, pick 189 overall, it may seem like he would have been making much more as a professional.
Well, that isn’t the case, as Leonard recently told The Athletic that he made more during his time with Notre Dame than he has with the Colts. According to Spotrac.com, the quarterback made $1,078,464 this past season, which is a pretty good annual income.
However, according to data from On3, Leonard had a Name, Image, and Likeness value of $1.6 million, which is almost 40% more than he pocketed with the Colts. If you are wondering why some college stars opt to stay for an extra year, this is the exact reason.
It clearly is different if you are taken in the earlier rounds, but if your evaluation is on the lower end, it pays to stay in school.
Those NIL payments at Notre Dame hit different for Riley Leonard 💰(via @TheAthletic) pic.twitter.com/VZJIfbLLZ4
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Riley Leonard claims he was paid more at Notre Dame than in the NFL