Sports

86-Year-Old Nike Founder Phil Knight Is Funding Oregon’s Insane Recruiting Run With NIL Money

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Oregon Football Recruiting Phil Knight Nike NIL
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Nike founder Phil Knight wants the University of Oregon to win a national championship in college football before he dies. He is supposedly funding an incredible recruiting run with unlimited NIL money.

The Ducks are rich and on a tear!

Knight is one of his alma mater’s biggest booster at 86 years old. Practically everything attached to Oregon’s athletic department has a tie back to the Swoosh. Facilities, uniforms, etc.

Name, Image and Likeness falls into that category of “everything.” There is a lot of money being pumped into the NIL fund for all 20 NCAA sanctioned sports. Some ofthat comes out of Knight’s bank account but football is the priority. Especially right now.

Dan Lanning has the Ducks in a great position to compete for a national championship in both the present and the future if the transition to the Big Ten goes as smoothly as the administrators in Eugene expect. Finances certainly help with that outlook.

The direct correlation between money and success in college football has always existed. It is more important in today’s era. Programs with larger NIL funds can offer more money to top talent creates a clear competitive advantage. Oregon has a big budget.

According to former UCLA, Colorado and Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel serves as an analyst for CBS and Sirius XM. He says that Knight is the driving force, which should not come as a surprise.

Meanwhile, as Knight pumps money into the university’s NIL efforts, the football team is on a tear.

The Ducks have three five-stars and 11 four-stars committed to sign in the Class of 2025. Their last seven days have been especially fruitful!

  • Five-star WR Dakorien Moore (No. 1 WR)
  • Five-star DB Dorian Brew (No. 4 DB)
  • Four-star TE DaSaahn Brame (No. 3 TE)
  • Four-star RB Jordan Davison (No. 5 RB)
  • Four-star DL Josiah Sharma (No. 7 DL)

There is no guarantee that Oregon’s strong class will translate to success down the road. It’s always going to be a gamble. However, Phil Knight is doing whatever he can to get a title in the near future and that starts on the recruiting trail.