When Matt Rhule signed his extension with Nebraska last fall, he cited the resources he was promised to compete with the big boys in the NIL era. While Rhule said he’d have “enough to compete,” he didn’t specify the number. On Wednesday, The Athletic estimated Rhule’s roster value, supporting the head coach’s claim.
The new article, produced through a months-long collaboration among staff members at the website, drew on interviews with numerous coaches and college front-office execs to estimate the value of each Power 4 school’s roster. While it offers few surprises about which schools top the list, where the Cornhuskers stand might surprise fans who immediately doubted NU has the resources to compete with perennial national championship contenders.
Ohio State reportedly has the richest roster in college football, estimated at $49-$54 million. Oregon is right behind the Buckeyes, with an estimated $48 to $54 million. Texas, LSU, Miami, and Texas A&M are on the next rung, just below the top two, with rosters estimated at $45-$55 million.
While Nebraska isn’t estimated to be in that top tier of most expensive rosters, The Athletic believes the Huskers are safely inside the Top 20 teams in the country. Assuming the list is accurate, the Cornhuskers rank No. 18 in the country, with a roster valued between $31 and $35 million. That number puts them in the same league as programs like Georgia and Florida and ahead of national title contenders like Oklahoma.
Nebraska football’s Top 20 roster value raises expectations for Matt Rhule in 2026
When Rhule praised the Huskers’ NIL investment, he said that they could compete with anyone in the country. He didn’t say, as some fans have pretended to believe, that Nebraska would have the most NIL money of anyone. Ranking No. 18 out of 64 is definitely competing. There’s a reason polls draw the line at 25 teams when dividing the best teams in the country from everyone else.
In the Big Ten, Rhule’s roster ranks sixth, behind only Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Indiana, and Michigan. Notably, only Oregon and USC in that group haven’t won a national championship in the last five years.
Even more notable: of the 17 teams whose rosters are worth more than Nebraska's, only four haven’t made the College Football Playoff field since it expanded to 12 teams in 2024. Of those four (Florida, USC, Auburn, South Carolina), the Gators and Trojans are considered legitimate CFP contenders this season.
Nebraska hasn’t come close to competing for a CFP bid yet, with records of 5-7, 7-6, and 7-6 since the 12-team playoff field began. However, if Rhule’s comments last November can be taken at face value, it’s a safe bet that the Huskers greatly increased their NIL budget for this season and beyond.
Obviously, spending big doesn’t equal winning, but this study shows that it most definitely helps. Nebraska coaches have repeatedly claimed that this year’s roster is the most talented they’ve had since arriving in 2023. With big-money acquisitions like Anthony Colandrea and Owen Chambliss, maybe 2026 is the year the Huskers prove Matt Rhule’s claim that he can compete with anybody is 100% correct.
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