NFL news: NIL deals keep top prospects in college football longer, ex-agent says

Since its inception, name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have completely transformed not just how college sports operate, but also professional sports.

Collegiate players, knowing they can stay in school for another year and make substantial money, do not have to turn professional in order 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’re seeing based on what happened with the quarterback at Oregon, Moore staying in school. I would never have anticipated a player that would go possibly top 10 in the draft, let alone the top five, would actually stay in school with the amount of money that he’s willing to risk,” Dogra told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

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 the NIL deal that Moore signed to stay with Oregon was, but 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 of Nike, I don’t know what was promised or what was done, but I think it was significant enough (to have) allowed the young man to think, wait a minute, I don’t want to go out, the way 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 who was projected to go as high as Moore was. He said that some players would make more money returning to school than declaring for the NFL Draft if they were projected to be a mid-round pick.

“And some players want to stay in college,” Dogra said. “Because they’re making more money than if they’re drafted. Right. I mean, that’s the vast majority because there’s only 32 first-round picks, whether you like it or not. That’s it. And then you’ve got 32 second-round picks. That’s where the money is. Once you start getting in the third round, that’s a functional starter. Could be a very good player. But those are (where) you’re filling out your roster and you’re hoping to steal those players in the third and fourth round.”

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Dogra cited current Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers as someone who opted to go to the NFL Draft instead of transferring out of Texas and extending his college career.

“The test cases aren’t out there, but Quinn Ewers is a pretty prime 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 that he was going to make like $7 million in NIL, he elected to go to the draft. He won’t 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 sooner because of when he was drafted.

“In four years, he might be out of the league because you don’t get the same amount of chances as a late-round pick as you do as a first-round pick. First-round picks, they give you every opportunity to succeed because the general manager is going to let you be on that team for three years or he’s getting fired, right?” Dogra said.

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Dogra said that not only will NIL affect who stays and goes in college football, but even when agents reach out to players now. In the pre-NIL era, college athletes weren’t allowed to sign agents until after their final 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. Although that rule remains in place with NIL, you’re seeing that agents and marketing agents are getting these players a lot faster than you ever anticipated. It’s almost like hockey. So, now you’re going after these players in high school. So, if you go after them in high school, how are you going to disseminate that information on how good that player is going to translate five, six years from now? So, it’s really Russian roulette,” Dogra said.

With contacts between players and agents being earlier in their career than they’ve ever been, Dogra said that agents have to weigh different options in how they want to cultivate the relationship.

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“It’s the Wild Wild west as I say because if you go early and you cultivate that relationship, you could get stale and old. And if that happens, you’re not going to sign the player. That’s happening. But on the flip 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 for when they’re eligible and it’s going to be really hard for other people to break down that door. So, it can go either way. But it’s a lot more work. It’s a lot more uncertain,” Dogra said.

“That’s going to be very dangerous and dicey for agents. It looks good. But a lot of those agents are going to lose players because recruiting is sales. That’s all it is. And if you if you undersell, and overperform, you’re going to keep the player. But (the) tendency in recruiting is very simple. You oversell and underproduce because you’ll move on to next year’s guy. 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 in his career.

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