Dan Lanning on Oregon's NIL support from Phil Knight: 'Oregon is Nike and Nike is Oregon'

The biggest asset in all of college football may reside in Portland, just two hours north of Eugene. Phil Knight is a big supporter of Dan Lanning and the Oregon football program. More than just having Nike gear for the Ducks but in the NIL world as well, leading to a lot of recruiting success.

Lanning spoke on the relationship he personally has with Knight since taking the job. The two seem to frequently speak and have the same values. Oregon will take a mantra from Nike and apply it to the 2024 season as they leave the Pac-12 and enter the Big Ten.

“I’ll tell you this — Oregon is Nike and Nike is Oregon,” Lanning said Thursday during Big Ten Media Days. “You’re talking about an athlete and his coach founding a company and the story of that… There’s a lot of things we want to build our program off of based off those principles that Nike really created.

“Some of those being change and being different. ‘Mighty different’ is something we’re stepping behind this year because that’s how we want to be. I think if you look at Nike’s approach, that was certainly something mighty different. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”

It’s hard to think about Oregon without associating them with Nike. The program is famous for having seemingly an unlimited amount of jersey combinations. On any given Saturday, the Ducks could walk into Autzen Stadium wearing something new.

Getting some cash from Knight certainly does not hurt either. Lanning would likely be the first to tell you Oregon is not solely winning recruitments due to NIL but it cannot hurt. Oregon currently holds the No. 5 recruiting class per the On3 Industry Team Rankings while having the second-highest average player rating of anybody.

Some big wins over the summer have taken over the place, most notably Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Dakorien Moore out of Duncanville, TX.

And that’s just when discussing players not even in the program. Lanning has been as good as anybody in the NCAA transfer portal to build his squad worthy of a national championship contender. Knight and Nike have had a lot to do with it all and more than just the financial aspect.

The relationship between Lanning and Knight will certainly continue as Oregon makes the move into the Big Ten. Knight’s support and values could help the Ducks win on college football’s biggest stage.