Early start to a chaotic NFL free agency period inadvertently handed Notre Dame football a tremendous future recruiting pitch
Notre Dame football just received an unforseen boost from the Indianapolis Colts and NFL Free Agency.
The Indianapolis Colts made an early splash once NFL free agency opened this week, resigning wide receiver Alec Pierce to a new four-year, $116 million deal. An early priority in this process, it appeared as if Pierce would be eyeing other options out there. He returns to Indianapolis following his breakout season in 2025, hauling in 47 receptions for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns.
That new contract now makes Pierce one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL, now sitting with an average of $27 million per year. While that is great for Pierce, it also may have inadvertently helped Notre Dame football. That includes a new and unique recruiting pitch in their back pocket.
Notre Dame’s new recruiting pitch
When it comes to the wonderful world of high school recruiting, there are a lot of players who prioritize the ability to get to the NFL. For the longest time, the Fighting Irish have been a program that has had to fight the stigma around the wide receiver position. Without a first rounder since Will Fuller, Notre Dame has struggled greatly trying to develop NFL-level wide receivers.
While that remains true for the time being, the Pierce news is a strong boost to the resume for wide receivers coach Mike Brown. Not only did Brown recruit Pierce to Cincinnati, but he was also there during every step of his development. Taking an underrecruited athlete and turning him into one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league isn’t nothing.
In fact, it is everything.
With Malachi Fields also expected to go relatively high in the 2026 NFL Draft this April, head coach Marcus Freeman, Coach Brown, and the Irish are soon going to have a much stronger pitch to wide receiver recruits. Even if some don’t believe this Pierce news is significant, they’re wrong. You just got a small answer to one of the biggest question marks about playing wide receiver in South Bend recently – the upside to get to the next level, and thrive there.
Alec Pierce’s career background
Pierce was originally a second round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati. The former Bearcat pass catcher began his college career as an extremely underappreciated recruit, but eventually morphed into a passing game weapon for Cincinnati. During his four-year career, Pierce managed to haul in 106 receptions for 1,851 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The 6-3, 213-pound wide receiver became an important member of the Colts’ passing game as soon as he was drafted. After an up-and-down first two seasons with the team, Pierce became one of the best deep threats in the league over the last two seasons. During his four years in Indianapolis, Pierce managed to haul in 157 receptions for 2,934 yards and 17 touchdowns. That is an average of 18.7 yards per reception.