Highest NIL Earning Recruiting Classes: Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Surprising Rankings

Across the Big Ten Conference's NIL average per recruit in the 2026 class, Oregon coach Dan Lanning's team is ranked No. 3. A surprising team is No. 1, topping Oregon and College Football Playoff National Champions Ohio State Buckeyes.

Here are how the 18 college football programs stack up with each other:

No. 1 Maryland Terrapins ($190K)

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes ($158K)

No. 3 Oregon Ducks ($152K)

“I think it’s impressive that guys like Kirby (Smart) have been signing the number one class in the nation without any NIL money this entire time... But if you want to be a top 10 team in college football, you better have great support. We have that. It’s our alignment with our entire university that makes our recruiting work.”Dan Lanning via The Pat McAfee Show

No. 4 USC Trojans ($143K)

No. 5 Michigan Wolverines ($134K)

No. 6 Washington Huskies ($95K)

No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions ($70K)

Tied for No. 8 Rutgers Scarlet Knights ($40K)

Tied for No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers ($40K)

No. 10 UCLA Bruins ($39K)

No. 11 Michigan State Spartans ($38K)

No. 12 Iowa Hawkeyes ($37K)

No. 13 Minnesota Golden Gophers ($25K)

Tied for No. 134 Illinois Fighting Illini ($22K)

Tied for No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats ($22K)

No. 16 Indiana Hoosiers ($19.6K)

No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers ($13.9K)

No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers ($13.3K)

The Big Ten was arguably the most competitive league in college football in 2024, ahead of the Southeastern Conference. That's simply based on the fact that the Big Ten had four teams invited into the 2024 College Football Playoff field (No. 1 Oregon, No. 6 Penn State, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 10 Indiana), one more than the SEC's three teams (No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs, No. 5 Texas Longhorns, No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers).

Within On3's top 100 NIL valuations, 23 total recruits come from the Big Ten. The SEC has 37 total recruits. Texas junior quarterback Arch Manning of the SEC is the No. 1 ranked player with a valuation worth a whooping $6.6 million and roster value placed at $4.2 million. Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith of the Big Ten stands at $4 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

The Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day won the national championship after an opening round win by taking care of the No. 12 Clemson Tigers, upsetting the Ducks at the Rose Bowl in the next round, then beating the Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl, and finally overcoming the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win it all.