Troy Dannen reveals next steps after Nebraska-CSC decision, role of state’s attorney general

“I would tell you, if those deals are rejected, my anticipation is the attorney general would step in and say the law says you can’t penalize them [and] they can accept these deals. But we do need to fulfill everything to get to the point where that law would even be viable for the attorney general to step in.”

Per rules under the House v. NCAA settlement, the 18 Nebraska athletes’ deals were subject to the NIL Go clearinghouse because the agreements are with a third party and exceed $600. They were then consolidated into one singular case. The Cornhuskers became the first athletics program to reach the arbitration process.

Speaking with reporters shortly after the ruling came down, College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley made it clear neither Nebraska nor the athletes did anything wrong. He also called the decision a testament to the rules in place, as evidenced by the arbitrator’s decision.

But as Nebraska gets ready to re-submit the deals, Dannen said he’s not worried about whether they will be denied again. He expressed confidence they’ll receive approval while also noting the “backstop” of the state law should that not be the case. No matter what, though, he knows the magnitude of the situation.

“No concern,” Dannen said. “We think the – and given what we learned in the arbitration process of structuring these deals and feeding them back through – I have strong belief the deals will get approved as they’re resubmitted and they’re matched with companies individually and they meet the criteria of an associated entity deal.

“But even if they don’t, our state law, those who had the vision to get that law pushed through … that is really a backstop that the athletes are going to get paid one way or another. I said in my statement, I appreciate their patience. They’ve been waiting a long time. They sat through the hearing, they participated in the hearing, as asked. I’d like to get to that end, but we’re kind of first-timers here. When I say that, nobody’s operating naively, but everything we do is precedent-setting.”