The Nebraska payout to Arkansas State will not only be its largest for a nonconference football opponent, but also reportedly the biggest check cut by any Power Five program to a visitor over the first two weeks of the season.
Arkansas State is receiving $1.65 million for the Saturday night game, which will kick off at 7 p.m. and be televised by BTN. In coming seasons, Nebraska is under contract to pay $1.17 million to Akron for a visit in 2018 and $1.2 million to South Alabama in 2019.
According to the NU athletic department, the highest previous payouts to teams for Husker home games have been in the $1 million range, or slightly above, including Arkansas State's previous appearance at Memorial Stadium in 2012.
Nebraska isn't alone in shelling out big money to lure teams from non-Power Five schools, but USA Today reported Tuesday that the $1.65 million will be the largest amount for games this weekend and the following one. Next closest are Northwestern paying $1.3 million to Nevada and Auburn paying $1.3 million to Georgia Southern, also in games being played Saturday.
OWH