On Monday evening, Nebraska became the kind of pioneer no school wanted to be. The Huskers are the first program to go to arbitration with the CSC, the entity that oversees NIL contracts in college sports. With the arbitrator ruling in favor of the CSC and against NU, the school now needs to figure out how to address a situation that could result in players not getting paid.
Matt Rhule now has Nebraska football staring at a landmark NIL setback
A neutral arbitrator has issued a final, binding decision affirming the College Sports Commission’s application of the rules in connection with third-party NIL agreements between Playfly and Nebraska athletes, according to a CSC press release on Monday night. This means that the 18 players who were part of the arbitration case will now have to work out new NIL deals and resubmit them to the CSC.
The rejected Nebraska deals involve payments to players via PlayFly Sports, which partnered with Nebraska in 2022 to pay the school more than $300 million for the use of its multimedia rights over 15 years. In December, PlayFly agreed to redirect $10.25 million — including approximately $8 million by June — to NIL payments.
The arbitrator agreed with the CSC that PlayFly is an "associated entity" whose primary role is to pay players NIL money.
Matt Rhule now waits as Nebraska football searches for its next NIL move
Nebraska was the first arbitration case to be heard, but it wasn't the only program challenging the CSC. The ruling by the arbitrator would seem to set a precedent that will change how schools deal with NIL contracts. Meanhwile the Huskers need to determine next steps.
It's believed that Nebraska has been prepping for this outcome for a while now, and the state government will be the next stop. A law recently passed by the state legislature prohibits an association or institution from penalizing athletes for participating in NIL or receiving compensation.
Attorney General Mike Hilgers would need to file a lawsuit against the NCAA and the CSC, and even if he does that tomorrow, there's no telling how long such an action would take. Of course, in the meantime, the 18 Huskers players at the center of this are in limbo.
Nebraska's season is just a few months away now, and it's a do-or-die season for Matt Rhule and his staff. This is likely why the players are first trying to resubmit revised NIL deals to the CSC. These deals may either come alongside a lawsuit or instead of it.
It's also possible that the kind of deals that were just ruled ineligible by the arbitrator could eventually be part of the NIL framework. House attorneys are attempting to change this part of the agreement to allow associated entities, and an initial hearing on the matter is scheduled for the end of May.
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