2026 Is 8 games into the books - Elko is already thinking about 2027

If Elko wants Hart to stay - Then Elko has committed to the following:

1. Privately made the decision for Reed to "not be back in 2027" - Reed to the Portal.
2. Told Hart that he will up his NIL from the $365K to at least $1M+ for 2027. TBD.
--- ( So Hart doesn't jump into the portal - His agent will be wanting him to jump )
3. Made the decision to Totally Rebuild the O-Line with both existing & portal - Lots of $$$.
--- ( To convince Hart to stay & using Marcels $3M NIL dollars to obtain / get quality O-Line

If Elko wants Hart to Leave - Then Elko has committed to the following

1. Not playing Hart in Any Real Time Game experience that means anything.
2. Keeping his loyalty to his $3M Reed QB, regardless of the production & outcomes.
3. He knows that Hart is not the future for the 2027 season & Elko will Go Portal for QB1
--- Therefore Elko is strongly suggesting (Non-verbal) for Hart to Go to the Portal.

I think
Elko still thinks he can win out and hold most of this recruiting class together. I would not be surprised if Reed starts at least two more games.

The Real Question - Does Hart want Elko to stay or leave for 2027?

That's a very good question!

We need to find a starting QB from the portal. A QB that has real playing experience and not just mop-up duty.

Unless you have a bonafide talent like a Julian Sayin or Keelon Russell, you can't afford to spend time developing a QB. Everybody wants to win now.

I think the bigger question is does Elko even want to stay? If I'm the BoR, I'm asking his agent the minimum he'd take to get out of town. If he wants the full sum, then he's here to stay

He'd have to be dumber than he looks think Hart comes back after being forced to sit behind their dumpster fire


I think the real question is whether Elko wants to stay or go.... Seems like he's coaching to get the buyout

He wants him to stay.

Elko has to go try and make a splash at QB in portal if he's still here...the UM has shown how this is has to be done in NIL/Portal era. Unknown who'll be there, but needs to assess and go after top 1-2 to get one here.

AND, he needs to get top OL like KY plan.

Elko wants Hart to stay, but not as a QB. He is sold on Reed. Elko will move Hart to nose tackle and also to OC, he has as much experience at OC as did ours when he got the job. It's genius really, when you come to think about it.

I don't want Hart to play next year for us unless he gains 30 pounds. He can ride the bench and develop a couple years here until he is proper weight to play in college.

Tired of these skinny dudes that get tackled with one hand.

Top New QB's for the 2027 season that could possibly enter the portal
are Expensive....

Arch Manning ( sips )
Current NIL value = $6M -- 2027 NIL cost $3M to $4M range.

Drake Lindsey ( Minnesota )
Current NIL value = $1M + -- 2027 NIL cost $1M+ to $2M

Dylan Raiola ( Nebraska and now the backup at Oregon )
Current NIL value = $500k -- 2027 NIL cost $1M+ to $2M

Bryce Underwood ( Michigan )
Current NIL value $3M -- 2027 NIL value = $2M to $3M

Braden Atkinson ( Oregon State )
Current NIL value $1.1M -- 2027 NIL value $1M to $2M

if this was Elko's plan- yo have his backup as the starting QB next year but dont give him any meaningful experience while playing meaningless games- he would be really dumb.

I don't think we want Hart to stay either if he's as bad as Elko says.

If Hart is the starting QB next season, the next TWO seasons are throwaway seasons. Do people understand that?

If you're QB isn't 23 (or at least has 2 years of starting experience at the FBS level) year old at least, you're not really playing serious football.

Hart is getting 365k? And he is evidently so awful that Elko would rather stick with Reed. Our money folks are worse with financials than my wife. What the fook are they doing over there?

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Hart is getting 365k? And he is evidently so awful that Elko would rather stick with Reed. Our money folks are worse with financials than my wife. What the fook are they doing over there?

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OP pulled that number out of his ass.

You are way over complicating this.

Elko has to get a competent OC that knows how to run an offense. That's it. It would be nice if they were a strong enough personality to help them guide Elko in assisting them in making the offense succeed without him pushing things towards his defensive mindset.

If he does that, the new OC and his staff will be the ones leading the way on determining what players they want and moving forwards with fixing this mess. It's the entire system, practice, game plan, etc. Not just the issues at QB. Making a solid hire would keep Hart here if that hire thinks he's the guy they like.

Not being able to run the play call down correctly trying to get a jump just magnifies how everything is broken.

Bottlehead90 said:

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I think
Elko still thinks he can win out and hold most of this recruiting class together. I would not be surprised if Reed starts at least two more games.

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At this point, the recruiting class is the most important thing left for this year. Whatever that takes is what we need to do.

SteakandPizza said:

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Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Hart is getting 365k? And he is evidently so awful that Elko would rather stick with Reed. Our money folks are worse with financials than my wife. What the fook are they doing over there?

---

OP pulled that number out of his ass.

---

My Bad:

Brady Hart has an estimated $366,602 in NIL market value for the 2026 football season, according to The NIL Standard's 2026 player valuation data, that was updated on October 15, 2026. The figure is an independent estimate from the "NIL Standard" who are the leading independent college-sports valuation organization.
Therefore Brady's full compensation could be more or less than this projected number.

Please fore give me SteakandPizza....