Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Troy Aikman Announces He's 'Done' Helping Pay College Athletes

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Dec 9, 2025 3:51 PM ET

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is a proud UCLA alum and has done what he can to support his alma mater for years. But after what he's seen from the Bruins recently, he's taking a step back as far as supporting its would-be stars financially.

Appearing on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Aikman said that he once gave money to a player to play at UCLA only for the player to up and leave after one year without so much as a thank you. Aikman said that he won't be doing that again until he sees serious leadership changes in how the money is distributed and managed.

“There’s gotta be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up,” Aikman said. “Starting with players that accept money. There’s gotta be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf, to have to stick to a program.

“I gave money to a kid, I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA, never met the young man. He was there a year, he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check, and he went to another school. I didn’t even get so much as a thank you note. So, it’s one of those deals, to where I’m done with NIL. I want to see UCLA be successful, but I’m done with it.”

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; NFL hall of fame Troy Aikman prior to a game between the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images© Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Who?

As for who the player is that Aikman's referring to, many believe it's current Oregon QB Dante Moore. Moore played one year at UCLA (2023) where he went 3-2 as a starter and played in nine games before transferring to Oregon in 2024 and became the starter in 2025.

"Troy Aikman says he's "done with NIL" after writing a "sizeable check" to an unnamed #UCLA player and watching that player leave the following year. He also mentioned not even receiving a thank you from the player. Unclear who, but some assume the player is Dante Moore..." UCLA reporter Gavin Carlson wrote.

Troy Aikman says he's "done with NIL" after writing a "sizeable check" to an unnamed #UCLA player and watching that player leave the following year. He also mentioned not even receiving a thank you from the player.

Unclear who, but some assume the player is Dante Moore... pic.twitter.com/PWOuiZ7kqE
— Gavin Carlson (@GavinCarlson_) December 9, 2025

"Probably not hard to guess which player Aikman is referring to here. I had heard during the deep dive reporting we did on UCLA football back in September that Aikman was not a believer in donating to NIL," Dan Wolken wrote.

It's less important who Aikman is referring to than the fact that Aikman clearly feels terrible about the whole situation. There's no way that Aikman is the only person who has personally invested good money into players only to see them turnaround and leave soon after.

If there ever is any action taken to change up college football spending, that will probably be addressed.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: