How Much NIL Money Built Oregon Ducks Current Football Roster?

Name, Image and Likeliness or NIL has changed the shape of college athletics forever. The Oregon Ducks have taken full advantage using that money to create a super squad this upcoming season. Comparing Oregon's NIL roster to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel throws out a pass during practice with the Oregon Ducks Wednesday Aug. 21, 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

How much Name, Image, Likeness dollars have been spent to build the Oregon Ducks current football roster?

According to Grant Hughes of 247 Sports, he's heard the conceivable truth from Troy Dannen who was the former Washington's athletic director and current Nebraska athletic director. Oregon's NIL valuation is around a $23 million budget.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning, left, and Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullen celebrate the win over Utah after the game at Autzen Stadium. NCAA Football Oregon Utah Football Utah At Oregon / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Compared to Big Ten conference foe Ohio State - the Buckeyes' NIL budget is $20 million by reportedly Jake Trotter of ESPN. The Buckeyes are all in on Ryan Day as their head coach. Yet, also has a feel of do-or-die time despite having a record of 56-8 since 2019. The postseason play is where the the questioning of his coaching abilities come in as Day has a 1-3 College Football Playoff record.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning's overall record since 2022 is 22-5 and but most recently lost to the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship game. He's still striving for his first touch of the CFP but that is most likely to change in 2024.

Here are the biggest NIL salaries on Oregon's current roster for the upcoming season. These are all On3 valuations according to each player's social media following.

Evan Stewart: $1.3 million

Dillon Gabriel: $1.2 million

Ajani Cornelius: $626K

Tez Johnson: $526K

Jabbar Muhammad: $486K

Jordan James: $415K

Josh Conerly Jr.: $385K

Dante Moore: $341K

Marcus Harper: $330K

Kam Alexander: $324K

Jeffrey Bassa: $317K

Terrance Ferguson: $307K

Dontae Manning: $305K

Jahlil Florence: $300K

Jordan Burch: $298K

Jurrion Dickey: $292K

Gary Bryant: $291K

Matayo Uiagalelei: $289K

Kobe Savage: $283K

Gatlin Bair: $282K

Jestin Jacobs: $281K

Blake Purchase: $280K

Noah Whittington: $279K

Teitum Tuioti: $278K

Iapani Laloulu: $273K

A'mauri Washington: $272K

Matthew Bedford: $271K

Ja'Maree Caldwell: $271K

"The reality is, find a top-10 team in college football right now that doesn't have great support. Do we have a lot more than everybody else? I think that'd be an exaggeration or we'd never lose. Everyone else right now is focused on our ice cream cone, and if I'm busy looking at theirs, that means mine's melting."

- Dan Lanning via ESPN's Adam Rittenburg

"Uncle" Phil Knight, the co-founder and chairman of Nike, is the major reason why this talk of Oregon football having the biggest cash pipeline in college football is even being discussed.

"Is our situation different than other teams in the nation? Absolutely. Is our team's situation different than the premier teams in the nation? Probably not. And that's OK. We want to be in that [group]."

- Dan Lanning via ESPN's Adam Rittenburg

Sep 9, 2023; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike on the sidelines in the second half during the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports / Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Phil Knight's contribution to the program is more heavily on the uniform and gear side of the Oregon athletic department. The donors put a good chunk of the money towards the NIL, more with the football team than any other sports.

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