Dante Moore’s decision to come back to Oregon for one more season did more than reshape the Ducks’ quarterback room. It also put him in a rare spot in the college sports NIL market.
According to a recent On3 Sports breakdown, Moore now sits at No. 4 in NIL valuation across all of college athletics at approximately $5 million. Only Louisville basketball center Flory Bidunga and Kentucky basketball power forward Milan Momcilovic, both at $6 million, and Miami quarterback Darian Mensah at $6.5 million are ahead of him.
That number fits neatly with Oregon’s broader place in the NIL landscape. The NIL Standard, which tracks team value through a multi-pronged evaluation approach, has the Ducks at No. 2 among college football programs with an estimated $41.4 million valuation. Only Texas is higher at $45.9 million.
Moore’s return was announced at the last second, and he passed on entering the 2026 NFL Draft and the chance at a potential multi-million dollar first-round contract. He has said the decision was driven by a range of reasons, and the financial side now looks just as significant as the football piece.
Some of Moore’s value is easy to trace. One of the biggest markers is his cover-model role for EA Sports College Football 2027.
In 2025, EA Sports paid athletes upwards of $16.5 million for their name, image and likeness to appear in the game, with a baseline of $1,500 per player plus a copy of the game valued at $70. Moore’s exact cut wasn’t disclosed, but as one of the faces of the game, he is clearly getting a meaningful piece of that pool.
His brand portfolio also includes a 2025 spot in the annual Beats By Dre “Beats Elite” class, where he was one of nine featured athletes. That same year, he also posted deals on Instagram with Raising Cane’s and Dr. Pepper.
Oregon’s own NIL ecosystem has helped as well. Moore has deals with the Ducks’ merchandise brand Ducks of a Feather, including a “Moore Air” shirt and the “Tokyo Oregon” collection. He also modeled the “Grateful Ducks” Nike and Class Trip merchandise collection alongside Oregon wide receiver Dakorien Moore.
Beyond the bigger endorsements, Moore has built out several smaller ventures that still feed into the total: his own merchandise store, his children’s book “From Journey to Dream,” and multiple youth camps across Oregon.
His business representation is listed in his Instagram biography through NBA & NFL agent Brandon Grier of Equity Sports. Equity Sports says it represents 43 players nationwide, including Oklahoma State offensive lineman Jacob Sexton, Indiana defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, and Georgia wide receiver London Humphreys.
Moore is the only Oregon Duck listed as an Equity representative for NIL, though the company also works with former Oregon Duck and Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin, along with Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Alex Harkey.
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Oregons backfield is already drawing national attention after CBS Sports slotted the Ducks running back room third in the country, a nod to how much production is returning and how much depth is piling up behind it. The group is headlined by sophomores Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., who gave Oregon a steady one-two punch last season and now give the offense a proven foundation to build around again.
Davison and Hill combined for more than 1,500 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns in 2025, and the Ducks are not stopping there. Colorado transfer Simeon Price has joined the mix, while freshmen Brandon Smith and Tradarian Ball are also in the room, giving Oregon a crowded competition for the next snaps and a depth chart that still has some sorting out to do. [Read more 🡒]
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Dan Lannings Rare Oregon Portal Misses Still Sting For Ducks Fans
Oregons transfer-portal haul has usually been a point of pride under Dan Lanning, but not every addition has delivered the instant boost fans expected. Makhi Hughes, Isaiah World and Caleb Chapman all arrived with real buzz and the sense that they could help shape the Ducks season, yet each one ran into a different kind of roadblock once the games started.
Hughes never found a consistent role in the backfield, World had stretches where his play did not match the lofty projections attached to him, and Chapmans time in Eugene was derailed by injuries before he could build momentum. For a program that leans on the portal to patch holes and raise the ceiling, those misses still stand out because they show how quickly a promising fit can turn into a quiet footnote. [Read more 🡒]