Dan Lanning preaches importance of financial literacy in NIL era

The introduction of NIL to college football has put some big-time money into the pockets of players. Especially when playing for a program like Oregon, which recruits at as high of a level as anybody out there in the country. This has caused Dan Lanning to add a few financial lessons to his program.

Financial literacy has become a topic of conversation for Lanning with his players. Even before they step on campus, he is making sure that smart decisions can be made. Players are almost always going to buy themselves something nice and Lanning knows they do not have to go 100% on purchases.

“I think our guys are pretty savvy,” Lanning said. “They all make mistakes. But I always tell them in recruiting ‘You’re about to be taken care of. I don’t need you walking in with a chain that says Taylor on it. We can just have a T, man.’ Let’s be smart. I think the education piece. We spent a lot of time on financial literacy here. We bring people in to talk to our guys. They have to feel comfortable having that conversation with us.”

Lanning was even able to provide a recent example, talking with Bucky Irving. An early draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, Iriving had a successful rookie season at the running back position. His contract was worth nearly $1.2 million a year over four seasons.

Irving took the time to tell Lanning about some of the smart decisions he has made with the money since entering the NFL. Maybe something the head coach can take back to the current roster with proof of concept.

“I’m talking yesterday with Bucky Irving and I’m so proud of what he’s done with the Bucs but just catching up and he said ‘Hey, here’s the great decisions I’ve made thus far financially.’ How he’s able to put some back and he’s taking some for the future. And I think that’s from lessons learned here. And sometimes, a mistake is a great lesson. Some of these guys will make mistakes and you want them to learn from it and build from it so they can have a long-term future because of it,” Lanning said.

Oregon signed the No. 4 overall recruiting class during the 2025 cycle. The average NIL Valuation of the players they signed was $214,000 — only Texas and Michigan were higher.