Oregon Ducks Football Ranked: Most NFL Players, Highest-Paid NFL Talent in 2024

Oregon Football continues to develop NFL level talent. Former Oregon athletes in the NFL combined salaries would land them at No. 8 for the highest sum of NFL pay.

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell signals for two more wins as he celebrates the 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round playoff game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the past decade, it feels as if more and more University of Oregon fans ask their friends about plans for watching the NFL Draft. This gradual build of Oregon Ducks fans anxiously awaiting those iconic draft chimes isn’t unfounded: the past five years showed the highest consecutive draft picks in the University’s history.

With the past five years of draft nights including first round pick status for quarterback Bo Nix, defensive back Christian Gonzalez, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, and quarterback Justin Herbert; the Oregon Ducks Football Team is on a hot streak for finding promising talent and mentoring them into what the University dubbed “Pro Ducks.”

That point is further driven home by looking at 2024’s eight draft picks overall; the most in a single year for the Ducks.

And even if an Oregon athlete doesn’t make a first round selection, an increased number of Ducks receive a call for the next level. Oregon’s all-time draft count for the first four NFL draft rounds amounts to twenty two first-round picks, nineteen second-round picks, twenty six third-round picks, and twenty three fourth-round picks.

A recent article by Sports Illustrated’s College Football Headquarters with statistics provided by SportsRac shows Oregon tied for twelfth when it comes to universities with the most current NFL athletes. The Ducks tied with the University of Florida Gators at 43 athletes in the pros.

The combined salaries of all current Oregon NFL athletes is $182,900,237. This is undoubtedly the highest combined salary for “Pro Ducks” in the school’s history. Currently, Oregon boasts the fourth highest paid athlete in the NFL with Justin Herbert at a total contract value of $262,500,000 and annual salary of $52,500,000 a year. The Ducks also claim the highest paid offensive tackle in the league with Penei Sewell’s 2024 record contract re-signing with the Detroit Lions worth $28,000,000 annually.

Compared to other schools mentioned on the ranked list, Oregon athlete’s combined salaries would land them at number eight for the highest sum of professional athlete pay.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have the most active NFL players with 77 ($509,286,769 combined salary) and the Ohio State Buckeyes have the second-most active NFL players with 66 ($301,683,689 combined salary.)

Currently, the most tenured Ducks remaining in the league are all 2015 draft picks. Quarterback Marcus Mariota with the Washington Commanders, defensive tackle Arik Armstead with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and corner Troy Hill with the Carolina Panthers. When NFL careers tend to last 3.3 years according to Statista, each of these Oregon Ducks remaining in the league for nearly a decade is a testament to their talent and Oregon’s proven production of NFL quality players.

As it stands, Oregon’s roster of “Pro Ducks” increased significantly since Oregon Football former head coach Chip Kelly’s tenure, but looking back on the history of the green and yellow shows NFL talent has always been there. Mariota may have been chosen second in the first round of the 2015 Draft, but the highest ever drafted Duck with the first overall pick by the Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts) goes to quarterback George Shaw from 1955. Shaw went on to have an infamously upstaged career, but he had the NFL thinking about Oregon before the “O”, and even Nike, was invented.

Consider the Oregon greats of eras before the carbon fiber wings adorned Ducks’ shoulder pads, and you’ll see even more proof of Oregon producing “Pro Ducks”. Four time Pro-Bowl pick wide receiver Ahmad Rashad (yes, that Ahmad Rashad), San Diego Chargers legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee quarterback Dan Fouts, seven time Pro-Bowl pick and Super Bowl winning guard Gary Zimmerman, Super Bowl winning quarterback Bill Musgrave, five time Pro-Bowler defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, and of course three time Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl champion center Max Unger. Our list can extend to all 255 Ducks to play in the league, but it doesn’t need to in order to show Oregon’s impact on professional football.

Though many correctly credit the modern Oregon “O” era for producing the most NFL talent in a generation for the University, many may remember that Oregon has always had “Pro Ducks.” Perhaps it’s best reflected when there’s a feeling of deja vu watching another Oregon quarterback throwing passes in a powder blue uniform with a lightning bolt on the helmet, and the name on the back of the uniform doesn’t say “Fouts.”

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