I was curious how Oregon's players lined up with other players around the country. But I found that the NIL value is undisclosed and not recorded as public record. But I did find a list that shows the top 20 paid athletes. The figures are in millions of dollars.

1. A. J. Bybantsa BYU 4.1

2. J. J. Toppin Texas Tech 2.8

3. Yaxel Lendenborg Michigan 2.3

4. Boogie Fland Florida 2.1

5. Donovan Dent UCLA 2.0 ***

6. Jayden Quaintance Kentucky 1.9

7. Braden Smith Purdue 1.9

8. Moustapha Thiam Cincinnati 1.8

9. Oscar Cluff Purdue 1.7

10. P. G. Haggarty Kansas St. 1.7

11. Bryce Hopkins St. John's 1.7

12. Owen Freeman Creighton 1.6

13. Malik Reneau Miami 1.6

14. Ian Jackson St. John's 1.5

15. Josh Dix Creighton 1.5

16. Henry Veesaar North Carolina 1.5

17. Cameron Boozer Duke 1.5

18. Bennet Stirtz Iowa 1.5

19. Dayyrn Peterson Kansas 1.5

20. Darrion Williams N. Carolina St. 1.4

*** Here's an example of what can happen even if you spend a lot of money on a player. Donovan Dent at UCLA is bringing in a cool two million but that doesn't guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament. As of today, according to ESPN's bracketology, the Bruins are currently listed as the first team out.

As my Duck friends who commented on a previous article, Oregon would have to spend some series cash to make them competitive.

Spending more on basketball would probably cut back on football funding. How do you guys feel about this? Keep it the same, with our football program close to the top of the football pyramid and basketball floundering at the bottom of the standings or make

basketball more interesting and exciting to watch. It takes a lot of money for a lot of football players to achieve that 'natty' we so desperately crave. But with basketball, probably two players and a strong supporting cast could bring a championship caliber team to Eugene.

18 minutes ago, sports fan said:

But with basketball, probably two players and a strong supporting cast could bring a championship caliber team to Eugene.

Absolutely. Ironic that Nike is known for Basketball shoes vs cleats.

But hey, it's not my $$$

It still amazes me that college kids are making millions when it should be about a scholarship and academics.

3 minutes ago, Hoosier Daddy said:

It still amazes me that college kids are making millions when it should be about a scholarship and academics.

Why shouldn't they get some part of the billions that old men are making off of their sweat?

Why not both? Michigan is able to invest and have success in both programs. They are spending 8-9M in hoops and are still competitive in getting football talent.

The Big Ten has always been a very strong league in basketball. It should not be a surprise that when you add in travel USC, UW, and UO are currently in the bottom half of the conference. Some B1G programs emphasized basketball in the past because it was difficult to compete for top positions in football. They had basketball success and drew large attendance and the fans considered it an acceptable tradeoff.

Many still have that reservoir of support even if they aren't active in basketball NIL.

Now that NIL has arrived, I really don't see a process to succeed in the B1G for West Coast teams unless they seek talent that can overcome the history of the B1G and travel issues.

Oregon had success in the Pac12 due to Altman and the nature of the league. Unfortunately, fans haven't really rewarded him with attendance. I sometimes wonder if he checks the attendance numbers at Creighton and wonders if he made the right decision.