Nebraska football has a money issue, but it’s not the only problem

Two things can be true at the same time: Nebraska football needs more money. Matt Rhule also needs to get more out of the money that the Huskers have.

The issue of money has been a frequent topic during the Rhule era. It might seem like Matt likes talking about. Surely, he doesn’t. That’s just the reality of this NIL era.

And the even starker reality is that Nebraska football, according to a new report from Husker Online, is still much closer to the have-nots than it is to the haves.

Steve Sipple reported that, through a source, Husker Online was able to report that there are multiple Big Ten teams spending $50 or more on their rosters this season. You can guess who those teams are: Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana. My guess is that Michigan probably isn’t that far behind.

$50 million rosters are here. That’s nothing new. The new information is that Nebraska football only has about $29 million, which is a pretty heft gap and ranks outside the top 25 nationally.

Money is an issue for Nebraska football, but so is Matt Rhule’s performance

I buy that the Huskers need more money and not just for football. They could use more in basketball, baseball, and softball, too. Even wrestling, where the program has finished in the top 3 nationally in consecutive seasons, something no other Nebraska program can say.

However, let’s be realistic about the fact that the issue for Nebraska fans is that the Huskers aren’t just losing to an elite program. Nebraska is still losing to Minnesota and Iowa.

One could reasonably assume Nebraska has more money than Iowa or Minnesota. Yet, those programs are getting more bang for their buck than Matt Rhule is.

It also doesn’t feel like Nebraska is on the level of teams like Illinois and Washington. Judging by how much Bret Bielema complains about other teams poaching his players and recruits, the Fighting Illini are also short on cash. Yet, they still won nine games in each of the past two seasons.

Rhule has said Nebraska is excited about the schedule. It should be. The top three powers in the Big Ten are all on it. That’s three chances to secure a breakthrough victory, with two of them at home.

Iowa, Illinois, and Washington are the three games that matter even more, at least in my mind. Without the monetary resources, it’s going to be hard to consistently beat the Oregon’s, Ohio State’s, and Indiana’s.

It should happen from time to time, but fans need to be realistic. Winning moves money. We saw that with the Nebraska basketball team. Michigan basketball is a great example of that, too. The Wolverines’ NIL coffers weren’t loaded when Juwan Howard was coaching the team.

Now they are, for good reason.

Nebraska needs to give people a reason. Beating teams like Iowa, Washington, and Illinois would be a start. All of those teams won nine games last season, and all of those programs feel like they are where Nebraska should be — closer to the haves than it is to the have-nots.