Matt Rhule’s patience is surely being tested as he and other coaches find themselves stuck on the roller coaster ride known as the ‘Roster Limit’. Both schools and coaches have been told all along they would have to get down to a roster limit of 105. When this first came about, Nebraska had over 150 players on their roster. Trying to do the right thing and be honest with his players, Rhule has met with players at different times to let them know where they stood within the 105. But a court ruling has gone back and forth, with players possibly being grandfathered in, to a firm 105, to now up in the air again.
On Wednesday the 23rd, Judge Cludia Wilkins threw a monkey wrench in the $2.8 billion anti-trust lawsuit of House v. NCAA. The class-action anti-trust lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Arizona State swimmer Grant House, who is seeking to lift restrictions on revenue sharing. The lawsuit is currently stalled with Judge Watkins insisting that the two parties find a way to redo the proposed roster limits.
Judge Watkins stated she would deny the settlement and throw it out and the two sides would have to go to trial unless they can figure out how to grandfather in players on the current rosters. If they can’t present something within fourteen days, she will trash the case.
If that were to happen, the $20.5 million revenue sharing for each school that was supposed to go into effect in July and paid out during the 2025-26 season would not happen.
Again, plaintiffs in this case are the student athletes and their representatives, and the defendants are the NCAA and the five major conferences in college football. Within the next fourteen days the defendants will need to find a way to appease the Judge in this case and come up with a plan that allows student athletes who are on the current roster to not count against the roster limits.
The most likely scenario in this is that the two sides come to an agreement that the Judge will accept. Meaning the NCAA and the conferences are left with no choice but to figure out how to grandfather players in.
If that were to happen it would eliminate several difficult conversations that Matt Rhule has been dreading, as there is a good chance Nebraska’s current roster could remain intact. However, whether Nebraska is allowed to keep the 130 players currently on the roster or get down to something less isn’t clear.
Watkins suggested earlier in the April 7th hearing that parties find a way to grandfather in athletes already on the roster.
“One way of achieving that could be to modify the settlement agreement to ensure that no (athletes) who have or had a roster spot will lose it as a result of the immediate implementation of the settlement agreement,” she wrote. “Limits could be accomplished gradually by attrition.”
Attorneys suggested keeping track of player eligibility would be chaos and argued that the good being done by thousands of student athletes getting paid offset whatever damage was done to players who find themselves transferring to a new school or giving up school all together.
“The court can approve the settlement agreement only if it is fair, reasonable and adequate after considering, in relevant part, whether it treats class member equitably relative to each other,” Watkins wrote, quoting a previous ruling.
It should be noted that Judge Watkins isn’t against roster limits, she is simply against forcing players out that are currently on the roster. For football the 105-man roster will eventually go into effect. How far into the future that is has yet to be determined.
As of now, this potentially means that Husker fans may see several players put their names in the portal to prevent them from being stuck in limbo. It could be a smart move at this point. Once a settlement is reached, and if they are grandfathered in, they can withdraw their names. If not, they have given themselves an option to go elsewhere. So, don’t be too alarmed by some of the names that might pop up in the portal, it could simply be an insurance policy.
As a football fan, I was happy to see the Judge in this case look out for the athletes who were losing their roster spots rather than the multi-million-dollar behemoth thats been created by television. Things have gotten out of control and some stability needs to be found. While players deserve to get paid, we’ve strayed a long way from the days of student athletes playing a sport they love while getting an education. Hopefully the right people put their heads together and establish some sort of normalcy. I’m sure Matt Rhule would be on board with that.
For more on Husker football from Lyle Harmon go to Off The Cob