NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Since their inception, name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements have transformed not only the way college sports, but also professional sports, operate.
College players, knowing they can stay in school another year and make a lot of money, don’t have to turn pro to make money.
Former NFL agent Ben Dogra cited Oregon quarterback Dante Moore returning to college instead of declaring for the NFL Draft as something that might not have happened before NIL.
“I think it remains to be seen because it’s still relatively new, but I think they’re seeing, based on what happened with the quarterback at Oregon, that Moore stayed in school. I never would have anticipated that a player who would possibly be in the top 10 in the draft, much less the top five, would actually stay in school with the amount of money he’s willing to risk,” Dogra told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers in the first half of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, a college football playoff semifinal, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 9, 2026. (Brett Davis/Image Images)
Moore was being projected in some mock drafts to go as high as No. 2 overall to the New York Jets before deciding to return. Dogra wasn’t sure how big of a NIL deal Moore signed to stay with Oregon, but he thought it influenced his decision.
“I know it’s an individual decision, but with NIL and when you look at Oregon and you see one of their biggest donors in (Phil) Knight at Nike, I don’t know what was promised or what was done, but I think it was significant enough to allow the young man to think, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to go out,’ like he did, throwing a pick six, and they think they have a chance to win a national championship,” Dogra said.
Dogra said he expected players projected in the third and fourth rounds, maybe the second round, to return to school, but not someone projected to go as high as Moore. He said some players would make more money returning to school than declaring for the NFL Draft if they were projected as a mid-round pick.
“And some players want to stay in college,” Dogra said. “Because they’re making more money than if they were drafted, right? I mean, that’s the vast majority, because there are only 32 first-round picks, whether you like it or not. That’s it..
“And then you have 32 second-round picks. That’s where the money is. Once you start getting to the third round, that’s a functional starter. He could be a very good player. But that’s where you’re filling out your roster, and you’re hoping to steal those players in the third and fourth rounds.”
NCAA INVESTIGATES AFTER DABO SWINNEY RAISES ALLEGATIONS OF TRANSFER PORTAL MANIPULATION AGAINST OLE MISS
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) passes for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter during a College Football Playoff first-round game against James Madison at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, on Dec. 20, 2025. (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Dogra cited current Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers as someone who opted to go to the NFL Draft rather than transfer out of Texas and extend his college career.
“The test cases aren’t there, but Quinn Ewers is a prime example. All-American. He had to move from Texas because the commitment was to Arch Manning. And, instead of going to another school, which I think they reported he was going to make like $7 million in NIL, he chose to go to the draft. He’s not going to make $7 million where he was drafted.”
Ewers was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft and signed a four-year, $4.3 million contract. Not only will Ewers make less, Dogra said, but he could be out of the NFL sooner because of when he was drafted.
“In four years, you could be out of the league because you don’t have the same amount of opportunities as a late-round pick as you do as a first-round pick. First-round picks give you every chance to be successful because the GM will let you be on that team for three years, or he’ll be fired, right?” Dogra said.
MIAMI STAR LINEBACKER EXPECTS TO RETURN FOR 8TH COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON: REPORTS
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers passes against Ohio State during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Dogra said NIL won’t just affect who stays and who goes in college football. In the pre-NIL era, college athletes were not allowed to sign with agents until after their final college game.
Dogra said that while that rule remains in effect, there is a different dynamic in the agent-player interaction.
“Now, it’s a different dynamic. Even though that rule is still in effect with NIL, you’re seeing agents and marketers getting these players much faster than you ever anticipated,” Dogra said.
“It’s almost like hockey. So now you’re chasing these players in high school. So if you’re chasing them in high school, how are you going to spread that information about how well that player is going to translate five or six years from now? So it’s really Russian roulette.”
With contacts between players and agents happening earlier than ever in their careers, Dogra said agents have to weigh different options for how they want to cultivate the relationship.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers looks to hand off the ball to a teammate against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 4, 2026. (David Butler II/Image Images)
“It’s the wild west, like I say, because if you get there early and cultivate that relationship, you could get stale and old,” Dogra said. “And if that happens, you won’t sign the player. That’s happening.
“But on the other hand, if you develop that relationship early and that player delivers, and you build that credibility, now you’re going to be in the driver’s seat when they’re eligible and it’s going to be very difficult for other people to knock down that door. So, it can go either way. But it’s a lot more work. It’s a lot more uncertain.
“That’s going to be very dangerous and risky for agents. It looks good. But a lot of those agents are going to lose players because recruiting is selling. That’s all. And if… you undersell and overperform, you’re going to retain the player. But (the) trend in recruiting is very simple. You oversell and underproduce because you’ll move on to next year’s player. And with this transfer portal, you just don’t know. There’s no continuity anymore.”
Dogra represented Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Mario Williams and Richard Sherman during his career.
