What it really costs to build a championship caliber team

[Faux Mike Peltz]

Just got done reading an article written by Jamie Shaw.

its behind a paywall on a different site, so I will recap:

 

He interviewed several power conference head coaches to get more insight into the true NIL cost of a basketball roster.

 

"In this portal, I think you'll need a minimum of $4.5 million," a coach in the ACC said. "And that's if you do a hell of a job evaluating."

After talking for a little bit, that same coach added, "To be safe, it'll be about $6 million to be a top-25 team."
 

The author confirms that range was consistent across the board

 

A current SEC coach said 

“You will need 4-5 million if you want to be in the top 25”

 

A Big 12 coach said “it will be no less than 5 million to be in the top 25”

 

Even with revenue sharing helping out - a current ACC coach said “we will be between 6-7 million to be able to compete”

 

of course, there are outliers as well.

Cooper Flagg is near 3.5million alone, and Braden Smith, a name most Husker fans are familiar with, is at 1.8million by himself. 
 

So, when Husker fans say we need more NIL, based on the info in this article, yes, yes we absolutely do!

In hindsight, we got absolute steals in Gary and Brice, who’s total NIL for both of them is less than what Braden is getting alone.

 

So, we either get the expensive, bug named transfers that will be seven figures, or hope to find another Mast from a non power conference and hope they seamlessly transition to the big ten. 
 

Nelson from Alabama is an example - but he may be the outlier. 
 

Our current QB gets more in NIL than our entire basketball roster, if that puts anything in perspective 

 

 

 

[HuskerFever]

This formula is no different than before NIL existed. There's a price associated with winning. And the highest bidder usually gets the glory. But this is also a business and you have to make sure you're getting the ROI with the limited funds you have.

 

The Dodgers paid their way into World Series titles, Louisville (under Pitino) paying recruits and their families and having their national title stripped away, and Ohio State with one of the largest NIL pools winning a CFB national title.

 

Unfortunately, there's also a lot of teams who spend a fortune on NIL and still suck. That said, those schools who have the largest NIL pools for basketball are currently slotted to be in the tournament as of today.

[hskr4life]

Thanks! Saw this article earlier but didn't get to read because of the paywall. I mean it makes sense. And with no cap on spending........... you're going to have to pony up.

[Nebrasketball1979]

4 minutes ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

Just got done reading an article written by Jamie Shaw.

its behind a paywall on a different site, so I will recap:

 

He interviewed several power conference head coaches to get more insight into the true NIL cost of a basketball roster.

 

"In this portal, I think you'll need a minimum of $4.5 million," a coach in the ACC said. "And that's if you do a hell of a job evaluating."

After talking for a little bit, that same coach added, "To be safe, it'll be about $6 million to be a top-25 team."
 

The author confirms that range was consistent across the board

 

A current SEC coach said 

“You will need 4-5 million if you want to be in the top 25”

 

A Big 12 coach said “it will be no less than 5 million to be in the top 25”

 

Even with revenue sharing helping out - a current ACC coach said “we will be between 6-7 million to be able to compete”

 

of course, there are outliers as well.

Cooper Flagg is near 3.5million alone, and Braden Smith, a name most Husker fans are familiar with, is at 1.8million by himself. 
 

So, when Husker fans say we need more NIL, based on the info in this article, yes, yes we absolutely do!

In hindsight, we got absolute steals in Gary and Brice, who’s total NIL for both of them is less than what Braden is getting alone.

 

So, we either get the expensive, bug named transfers that will be seven figures, or hope to find another Mast from a non power conference and hope they seamlessly transition to the big ten. 
 

Nelson from Alabama is an example - but he may be the outlier. 
 

Our current QB gets more in NIL than our entire basketball roster, if that puts anything in perspective 

 

 

 

This is really interesting and I'd love to hear perspective on how much Nebraska's investment is in basketball.  I've heard our current roster is somewhere in the $2M-$3M range and depending on who you ask, this is either average to maybe slightly below average in the Big 10.  It's hard for most of us to opine on the job Fred is doing without this perspective.  Are we essentially asking him to coach with one hand behind his back?

 

Additionally, I wonder how the new rev. share math works out.  How much of the $20.5M is allocated to basketball and how much does 1890 potentially add to the pot to make the basketball team more competitive?

 

The bottom line is those who have the largest budgets and to some extent, those that also spend wisely, are going to be the consistent winners going forward.  Will Nebraska make the necessary investment and give Fred the resources to build a roster that is in the upper half of the Big 10?  If not, we should be evaluating Fred on a sliding scale and thanking him for getting us on the bubble in most years.

[Faux Mike Peltz]

I forgot to mention that one head coach said they pay 90% of their NIL pool to the top 8 players. Then the other 10% is allocated to the remaining guys.

 

Our NIL pool this past season was closer to 2 than 3, so it really puts in perspective what Coach had to work with and why we didn’t land certain guys who just needed more NIL.

 

I think another thing is this: Gone are the days when you need an ace recruiter. Don’t get me wrong, you need guys who can evaluate talent and potential and fit - and you need personable assistants who connect well. But you don’t need to have some slick salesmen, NIL puts a lot of programs on equal footing to some degree. The facilities and coaches and development also play into it 

[jimmykc]

The free education seems to be a nonessential element in the equation now. Perhaps tuition should be included as part of the NIL package. And, of course, coaches like Pitino may still find other ways to "sweeten" the deals for potential athletes like he did at Louisville.   

[cornfed24-7]

15 minutes ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

 

Our NIL pool this past season was closer to 2 than 3, so it really puts in perspective what Coach had to work with and why we didn’t land certain guys who just needed more NIL.

If this is the case I really become indifferent to who the coach of Nebraska Basketball is.

 

And I don't know I'd except any argument we should be firing the head coach this year, next year, or the year after if there is any significant buyout involved.

 

Am I to believe there's a coach out there that can compete with other schools offering twice or more in terms of amount of NIL funds that can do better than Hoiberg has the last 3 years?  

 

And it doesn't seem its an insignificant amount of schools spending at this level. Like this doesn't sound like this is just the top 20 schools.

 

What Fred has done the last 3 years is probably the high water mark if that's how competitive we are in the NIL space. 

 

Man if true this thread is about as discouraging and disheartening as it gets. I sure hope the disparity isn't this large because If this season was a gut punch than this news is a machete to the testicles.

 

 

[hhcmatt]

Feels like we have "win a game in the NCAA tourney" money/resources given how close we've come in the last couple of years.  As much as I'd love a Final 4 banner, a tourney win sure would be swell.

[HuskerFever]

16 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

As much as I'd love a Final 4 banner, a tourney win sure would be swell.

 

[hhcmatt]

Seems like maybe senior year guys with Juco experience could be moneyball acquisitions given that

• their first year out of Juco they tend to struggle adjusting
• they seem likely to get extra eligibility from the NCAA in the future

If you can mine some Evan Taylor types, even better 

[Faux Mike Peltz]

I’ve always said that we have the facilities, fan support, amazing support staff, and coaching. But we need more money to compete. Numerous targets spent their last season other than Lincoln because of what they wanted NIL wise.  
 

Rocco from Notre Dame was a seven figure guy, same with a couple of the receivers that we landed this year. 
 

Braden Smith level is 1.8 million.

 

What would a guy like Josh Dix command? Would we pay it?

[hskr4life]

1 hour ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

I’ve always said that we have the facilities, fan support, amazing support staff, and coaching. But we need more money to compete. Numerous targets spent their last season other than Lincoln because of what they wanted NIL wise.  
 

Rocco from Notre Dame was a seven figure guy, same with a couple of the receivers that we landed this year. 
 

Braden Smith level is 1.8 million.

 

What would a guy like Josh Dix command? Would we pay it?

 

Do we think the pendulum will swing back the other way at all? I know money is money... but some of these guys got huge dollar amounts to end up on a team that wasn't meant for them and now they aren't even going dancing. Do we think Coleman Hawkins goes to KSU if he doesn't get a cool 2 million? Would 1-1.5 and a chance to showcase in the NCAA tournament be a bigger factor for life after college?

 

I know the answer is probably "no" here but it does make me wonder if "fit" may start to play a bit of a factor again no matter how small that factor is.

[HuscurAdam]

22 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

 

Do we think the pendulum will swing back the other way at all? I know money is money... but some of these guys got huge dollar amounts to end up on a team that wasn't meant for them and now they aren't even going dancing. Do we think Coleman Hawkins goes to KSU if he doesn't get a cool 2 million? Would 1-1.5 and a chance to showcase in the NCAA tournament be a bigger factor for life after college?

 

I know the answer is probably "no" here but it does make me wonder if "fit" may start to play a bit of a factor again no matter how small that factor is.

 

I think fit will be a factor if the money is close. But if there is a large gap in the dollars, they will (rightly) follow the money. Most players won't have the opportunity to get that kind of money playing basketball ever again. 

[cornfed24-7]

40 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

 

Do we think the pendulum will swing back the other way at all? I know money is money... but some of these guys got huge dollar amounts to end up on a team that wasn't meant for them and now they aren't even going dancing. Do we think Coleman Hawkins goes to KSU if he doesn't get a cool 2 million? Would 1-1.5 and a chance to showcase in the NCAA tournament be a bigger factor for life after college?

 

I know the answer is probably "no" here but it does make me wonder if "fit" may start to play a bit of a factor again no matter how small that factor is.

I don't know man. I'm one of the biggest Nebraska Basketball homers there is. I have 2 sons. Unless we're talking 1.9 vs 2 million I'm advising them to take the money sons.

 

*Edit* Cornfeds sons are in no danger of being high level D1 basketball recruits.

Edited March 13 by cornfed24-7

[jimmykc]

Does anyone have a handle on what the Bluejay's NIL budget amounts to?

[Faux Mike Peltz]

Fit does play a factor for sure. One player turned down more money elsewhere to come to DONU this year, so it’s not always about the top bid

[HuskerFever]

1 minute ago, jimmykc said:

Does anyone have a handle on what the Bluejay's NIL budget amounts to?

 

$100,000 bags of cash in hotel rooms.

[Faux Mike Peltz]

1 minute ago, jimmykc said:

Does anyone have a handle on what the Bluejay's NIL budget amounts to?

I have a friend in the inner circle - if he is accurate, Pop, Kalk, and Ashworth alone got way more than our entire team 

[hskr4life]

18 minutes ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

Fit does play a factor for sure. One player turned down more money elsewhere to come to DONU this year, so it’s not always about the top bid

 

I seriously wondered this. I know there will be outliers, but they way that I see it, there are few players who probably command a high enough amount to differ by hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

[Huskerpapa]

7 hours ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

Our current QB gets more in NIL than our entire basketball roster, if that puts anything in perspective 

 

 

I've heard he gets more than our roster and coaches combined.  

[cozrulz]

Can you do bonuses?  $1 million if you make the tournament.  $1 million more if you win a game.  That's potentially how you could compete.  Make the incentive large to be the first team to win a tournament game.

[Cazzie22]

3 hours ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

I have a friend in the inner circle - if he is accurate, Pop, Kalk, and Ashworth alone got way more than our entire team 

It’s amazing that Creighton has that kind of money.

[HuskerFever]

5 minutes ago, Cazzie22 said:

It’s amazing that Creighton has that kind of money.

 

Especially when they're also donating to the football program.

[Dead Dog Alley]

11 hours ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

 

Our current QB gets more in NIL than our entire basketball roster, if that puts anything in perspective 

 

 

 

To be fair, his fast food bill is probably sky high so he needs that money

[Dead Dog Alley]

7 hours ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

 

What would a guy like Josh Dix command? Would we pay it?

 

Dix will come in here and try to take over the town