The terms of the House Settlement evened things out a little bit for schools like Iowa. Iowa can afford to pay the rev share, unlike schools like Iowa State and Colorado that are going into the red in their athletic departments because they don't have the extra 20 million laying around for the kids. That is what a Big 10 TV deal versus a Big 12 TV deal gets you. There is some NIL money at Iowa. Its not top end, but its there.
Can we keep up with the Joneses elite in the SEC and Big 10? No. But, are we in a better spot than the lower half of those conferences and most of the rest of the other conferences? You bet. The Blue Bloods are still going to get the talent they want. But, there are only so many roster spots at those top 15 schools. We cannot compete with that. But, we have a leg up on the rest of the field and I think that is reflected in the class we just signed who know there is a decent chance KF is not there when they graduate but they signed at Iowa anyway.