Forget the playbooks IN 2025—college football is all about who’s got the green, and who knows how to spend it. NIL money is flying like autumn leaves on NFL Draft night. Ohio State set the bar by winning it all after spending $20M on their 2024 roster. Then Texas came through like Big Bank Hank, casually assembling a $40M lineup for 2025. Miami? They’re right there too, with Curt Cignetti out here saying Mario Cristobal’s got a $40M roster. And yeah, that’s how they landed Chamar Brown. Meanwhile, Nebraska sat back, smiled, and dropped a chess piece so slick you almost missed it—Matt Rhule’s $2.55 million secret weapon. Not a quarterback. Not a five-star transfer.
Nah—his General Manager. Enter Pat Stewart.
But here’s where Nebraska plays the long game. On May 11th, Husker insider Wilson Dittman hopped on his podcast and pulled back the curtain on Rhule’s not-so-secret weapon: GM Pat Stewart. “We know what NIL is doing in college football. It’s completely changed it—it’s turned it around, spun it on its head,” Dittman said, before dropping the bomb. “Nebraska right now, they boast a top 20 NIL collective… probably even top 10. But what Pat Stewart’s done so far, and this is a good thing, is he’s made Nebraska’s NIL sustainable. When you look at Ohio State, when you look at Texas, when you look at some of these other programs around the country, they have millions on millions of dollars and they’re spending that every single year—but it’s not sustainable, okay?”
You see, Stewart isn’t just writing checks—he’s running Nebraska like it’s an NFL franchise with a hard salary cap. This ain’t your booster’s bag-fumbling era. We’re talking structured NIL allocations, by position. Stewart’s model? Something like: $4M max on QBs, $4M on O-line, $2M on wideouts. Running backs? That’s a $500K cap, period.
And that, my friend, is why Nebraska didn’t break the bank for Chamar Brown. Miami allegedly dropped half a mil. Pat Stewart and Matt Rhule looked at that price tag and said nah. “We’re treating this like cap space,” Dittman explained. “We’re not going crazy with money just ‘cause we have it.”
Sure, Nebraska could’ve flexed. Their boosters got deep pockets too—they’re reportedly putting $10 to $15 million into this year’s squad. But blowing a million a single RB? That’s short-term clout. Stewart’s playing the long game: keep it tight now, have cash left for 2027, 2030, and those sweet stadium upgrades.
A lotta these big brands? They’re living paycheck to paycheck. “Ohio State using, you know, $30 million a year is not sustainable,” Dittman said. “Sooner or later, the boosters are going to run out of money. You might not think that’s going to happen, but it will.” According to Dittman and logical sense, the NIL cash flow might reduce in just a few years. The programs spending $30 million this season might have a hard time adjusting when NIL starts to bleed dry. But not Lincoln. The Cornhuskers are playing different game. They are playing caps game.
All thanks to Pat Stewart. Let’s talk about Stewart for a second. The man was pulling strings for the Patriots during multiple Super Bowl runs, walked through the Eagles and Panthers war rooms, and now he’s in Lincoln turning the college game into a business clinic. Nebraska named him GM in March 2025, but he’s already working the roster like he’s got Bill Belichick on speed dial. And here’s the thing: Man’s getting paid like it too. A fat 3-year, $2.55 million deal. That’s GM money—because Nebraska ain’t playing amateur ball anymore.
Believe it or not; The college football is becoming GM’s league too. Look around—USC learned real quick. They went 7-6 last year, then hired recruiting monster Chad Bowden. Boom—top 2 recruiting class. What Stewart is doing with Nebraska is the same play, just smarter. Matt Rhule’s not wasting time haggling with 17-year-olds on Instagram or TikTok. Stewart’s cooking up NFL-level evaluations, long-term budgeting, and surgical roster cuts. He’s not chasing headlines—he’s chasing sustainability. And it’s not just about today’s roster. Stewart’s budget keeps room for gear upgrades, locker room facelifts, full-blown facility glow-ups. That holistic vision? It’s exactly why Nebraska could leapfrog flashy but reckless spenders in the next five years.
Stewart and Rhule go way back too—Temple, Western Carolina, Carolina Panthers. This isn’t just business—it’s trust. Continuity. Strategy. Their reunion in Lincoln feels less like a gamble and more like a reload.
Matt Rhule’s Big Red’s $2.55M strategy meets Raiola’s Mahomes obsession
While Nebraska’s NIL game is tightening up under GM Pat Stewart’s NFL-inspired strategy, there’s one wildcard that still has fans buzzing — Dylan Raiola’s full-blown Patrick Mahomes cosplay. Forget subtle nods. Last season, the Huskers’ prized quarterback prospect strolled into training camp rocking a broccoli-shaped haircut and Oakley sunglasses like he was ready to take reps at Arrowhead that afternoon. Jersey number? You already know — No. 15, just like the Chiefs’ megastar.
But Raiola didn’t stop at the look. After closing out the 2024 spring game, the young QB made a pilgrimage to Kansas City to train with Bobby Stroupe — the same performance guru who helped shape Mahomes into a generational talent. The hope? To channel some of that magic back to Lincoln. And for a minute, it looked like it might’ve clicked. Against UTEP, Raiola lit it up: 19-for-27, 238 yards, two touchdowns, all in under three quarters. But when the Big Ten hit back, the Mahomes mimicry wasn’t enough. Illinois got to him for three sacks, and whispers started to grow louder — was Raiola chasing a shadow too big to catch?
Then came Jake Crain’s now-viral take on the May 4 episode of Crain & Co.: “You mean to tell me that Dylan Raiola, who cosplays as Patrick Mahomes opening an Arrowhead, is going to play in Arrowhead?” He was, of course, referring to Nebraska’s upcoming clash against Cincinnati — a historic revival of a 1906 rivalry — set inside the hallowed grounds of Arrowhead Stadium. A coincidence? Crain didn’t think so. He hinted that maybe, just maybe, Matt Rhule picked that venue to feed Raiola’s Mahomes fantasy.
But as Nebraska dials in their roster under Stewart’s surgical NIL budgeting — passing on overpriced portal pickups like Miami-bound Chamar Brown — the Raiola storyline reminds everyone that flash still matters. Dreaming big is part of the Big Red brand, even if it comes wrapped in a Mahomes-sized package.
Now the question is: will Raiola’s Arrowhead moment be a coronation — or another cautionary tale in college football’s NIL era?
The post Matt Rhule’s $2.55M Secret Weapon Puts Nebraska in National Spotlight as Dylan Raiola’s Concerning Obsession Raises Eyebrows appeared first on EssentiallySports.
