Nebraska football will spark backlash if it follows Tennessee's lead

It’s a brave new world for Nebraska football. Players are getting paid. They’re about to get revenue sharing on top of NIL. The Huskers, along with the rest of the sport are trying to find ways to deal with that new world.

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Volunteers made sure to demonstrate exactly how it shouldn’t be handled. That’s especially the case since the whole point is that these schools are making a ton of money off players’ name, image and likeness rights.

Danny White and his program announced that starting next season, they will be adding a “talent fee” to all ticket prices. In other words, they’ll be passing on the cost of the revenue sharing to the fans. Should the Nebraska football program be considering a similar move, AD Troy Dannen will see a massive backlash.

It’s not just because the Vols’ plans to charge fans extra has already gotten people quite mad at them. Husker fans are already paying through the nose for tickets. While not at the top of the list, they’re among the most expensive in the country. 

Nebraska football should absolutely not follow Tennessee’s lead

This “talent fee” isn’t small. Tennessee football ticket prices and the required donations that accompany them will rise by an average of 14.5 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, Vols AD Danny White will make about $2.5 million next year in salary.

There’s no doubt that schools like Tennessee and Nebraska are going to see higher operating costs. Should the House v NCAA settlement go into effect, the richest schools in the country will opt in by funding an estimated $22 million pool to pay athletes directly and about another $5-10 million to fund additional scholarships.

However, the keywords here are “richest schools.” It might not be easy or painless by Tennessee has the means to fund revenue sharing in other ways. It’s right there in the name. Revenue. Sharing.

None of the ways in which programs like the Huskers fund these new initiatives are going to be popular with everyone. Programs might need to tighten their belts. Maybe insane buyouts for mediocre coaches won’t be the law of the land anymore.

What’s clear is that should the Nebraska football program jack up prices like that, there wouldn’t be a more direct threat to one of the traditions the university is most prideful about. If Dannen sees the sellout streak as something that needs to keep going, he’ll need to find another way.