Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen revealed a significant disparity between what the Huskers currently can spend on new talent versus schools like Ohio State and Oregon.
According to Dannen, who was speaking at an event held by the 1890 Initiative NIL collective, Nebraska currently has just under $10 million in its coffer, while Ohio State and Oregon have NIL budgets of $23 million.
"We have the facilities, we have the coaches, we have the fans," Dannen said at 1890's Annual Member Appreciation Event, according to 247Sports. "In the next couple of years, we'll be fighting an even fight. Right now, we're not fighting an even fight… At Washington, our football program last year had an NIL budget of about $10 million and went to the national championship game. Oregon's is 23. Ohio State's is 23. Ours here is not even 10."
Dannen said the recent House v. NCAA settlement had changed everything for Nebraska, as the $2.8 billion settlement introduced a revenue-sharing model to college football that will take effect in 2025. The new model is expected to make collectives, as well as the transfer portal less important.
"We've got great advantages here," Dannen said. "We don't have debt. We have great reserves. We have a fan base, facilities, and great advantages for addressing what lies ahead. NIL is not going to last forever. There will be an antitrust settlement in the courts this year. Part of the antitrust settlement, [The 1890 Initiative], is going to get banned. The collectives are going to go away. What's going to be replaced is athletic departments and revenue sharing with our athletes. In the budget of our athletic department right now, we have a $20 million placeholder in two years to share money with our athletes. It's in the budget right now. There's three schools in the country that have that in their budget right now: Georgia, Texas and us."
