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Since its inception, name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have completely changed not just how college sports operate, but professional sports as well.
Collegiate players who know they can stay in school another year and make significant money don’t need 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 in a pre-NIL era.
“I think it still remains to be seen because it’s still relatively new, but I think you see based on what happened with the quarterback at Oregon, Moore, who stayed in school. I never would have expected a player who would possibly go in the top 10 of the draft, let alone top five, to actually stay in school with the amount he’s willing to risk,” Dogra told Pakinomist Digital recently.
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Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 9, 2026. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
Moore was 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 the NIL deal Moore signed to stay with Oregon was, but believed it influenced his decision.
“I know it’s an individual decision, but with the NIL and when you look at Oregon and you see one of their biggest donors in (Phil) Knight of Nike, I don’t know what was promised or what was done, but I think it was significant enough (to have) given the young man the opportunity to think, wait a minute, I’m not going to go out like he did thinking they had a chance to win a national championship,” he said.
Dogra said he expected players projected in the third and fourth rounds, maybe the second round, to return to school, but not anyone expected 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 expected to be a mid-round pick.
“And some players want to stay in college,” Dogra said. “Because they make more money than if they’re drafted. Okay. I mean, it’s the vast majority because there’s only 32 first-round picks, whether you like it or not. That’s it. And then you have 32 picks in the second round. That’s where the money is. Once you start getting into the third round, it’s a functional starter. Could be a very good player. But that’s (where) you fill out your roster and you hope to steal those players in the third and fourth rounds.”
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Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) throws a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff first-round game against James Madison at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Dec. 20, 2025. (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Dogra cited current Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers as someone who chose to go to the NFL Draft rather than transfer from Texas and extend his college career.
“The test cases aren’t out there, but Quinn Ewers is a pretty good example. All-American. He had to move on from Texas because the commitment was to Arch Manning, and instead of going to another school, which I think they reported he’d make like $7 million in the NIL, he chose to go to the draft. He’s not going to make $7 million where he was drafted.”
Ewers was drafted 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, he could be out of the NFL earlier because of when he was drafted.
“In four years, he could be out of the league because you don’t get the same number of chances as a late-round pick that you do as a first-round pick. First-round picks, they give you every opportunity to be successful because the general manager will let you stay on that team for three years or he’ll be fired, right?” Dogra said.
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Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) passes against Ohio State during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal in Arlington, Texas, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Dogra said the NIL will not only affect who stays and goes in college football, but even when agents reach out to players now. In the pre-NIL era, college athletes were not allowed to sign agents until after their last college game.
Dogra said that while that rule remains in place, there is a different dynamic in the agent-player interaction.
“Now it’s a different dynamic. Even though that rule remains in place with the NIL, you’re seeing agents and marketing agents get these players much faster than you ever anticipated. It’s almost like hockey. So now you’re going after these players in high school. So if you’re going after them in high school, how are you going to convey that information to six years, is it really that the player is for six years? Russian roulette,” Dogra said.
Since contacts between players and agents are earlier in their careers than they’ve ever been, Dogra said agents have to weigh different options in how they want to cultivate the relationship.
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Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers (14) looks to pass the ball to a teammate against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Jan. 4, 2026. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)
“It’s the wild wild west, as I say, because if you go early and you cultivate that relationship, you can become stale and old. And if that happens, you don’t want to sign the player. It happens. But on the other hand, if you develop that relationship early and that player pans out and you build that credibility, now you’re going to be in the driver’s seat, and when they’re really qualified for others, when they’re qualified for others. to break that door down, so it could go either way, but it’s much more uncertain, Dogra said.
“It’s going to be very dangerous and skewed for agents. It looks good. But a lot of those agents are going to lose players because recruiting is selling. That’s all it is. And if you, if you undersell and overperform, you want to keep the player. But (the trend) in recruiting is very simple. You oversell and underproduce because you oversell and underproduce this guy. You just don’t know. There’s no continuity anymore.”
Dogra represented Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Mario Williams and Richard Sherman in his career.
