19. The 1890 Initiative (Nebraska)
Dollars are not hard to come by at Nebraska with The 1890 Initiative. Former Husker great Matt Davison partnered with Nebraska businessman Tom Peed and Shawn Peed to form The 1890 Initiative. As part of the launch in October, the group took over Athlete Branding & Marketing.
Since the announcement, the collective has worked with a number of football and volleyball athletes. Matt Rhule held a camp earlier this month in the Dallas. The 1890 Initiative held a fundraising event that night for Nebraska boosters in the area.
Yet, athletic director Trev Alberts has not come out in support of the collective. The 1890 collective has made a public push, however, to get in front of fans. They have done TV commercials, radio ad and bill boards around the state. According to a source at Nebraska, more than 85 football players have signed with the collective.
Whenever industry sources talk about the NIL landscape in the Big Ten, Nebraska is one of the first collectives brought up. Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Dylan Raiola committed to Georgia last month. A Nebraska legacy, his father played for the Huskers and his uncle is currently Nebraska’s offensive line coach. Multiple sources have indicated to On3 that if NIL had been a major factor in his decision, he would be a Nebraska commit.