What House Settlement means for Nebraska football

After months and years of waiting, the House Settlement was finalized on Friday night, ushering in a new era where colleges are now able to directly pay players. So what does this mean for Nebraska football?

A lot. Big changes are coming, but in terms of the players on the current roster, there is some good news. So let’s examine what this means for Nebraska football, both short-term and long-term.

Short-term impact for Nebraska football

The short-term impact is great for Nebraska. There will be a 105-man roster limit going forward for football. However, players who are currently on the roster have been grandfathered in.

“The NCAA, power conferences and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit instead offered a compromise: schools have the option to keep current players on their rosters and temporarily exceed new limits until their eligibility expires.” (CBS Sports).

This will allow Nebraska football to keep all of the players currently on the roster until their eligibility expires. That means all the players Matt Rhule talked about not wanting to leave because they are “Huskers” won’t have to leave.

Nebraska and other schools will be allowed to temporarily exceed that 105-man roster limit while those players have eligibility. They can also leave for another program and still be exempt from the limit.

That’s good news for the players and Nebraska football.

What about the future?

The House Settlement means that schools can directly pay players. College football teams will have $14-16 million at their disposal. NIL is also still going to be around, but it will be different.

There will be a commission that acts as the enforcement body — not the NCAA. It will evaluate all NIL deals above $600. These deals have to serve a legitimate business purpose moving forward — instead of being used as a recruiting tool.

It was estimated that 70 percent of the current NIL deals would be rejected. Dylan Raiola’s would probably fall into that category.

However, Nebraska could take advantage of this with a truly national fan base. It’s hard to know how all of this will work and what major programs will get an edge.

Hopefully, this will level the playing field, but in terms of landing recruits, I’m sure money will still be the thing that matters. NIL will be different, but the result will be the same.