Good times roll in Eugene! And Dan Lanning must be counting his blessings now. When it’s Oregon Ducks, it has to be different. Lanning’s program changed the whole NIL game collaborating with the the highest-value fashion brand, $50.6 billion Nike. Yes, it definitely did change the NIL scene, Surprisingly, it did bring about change in Lanning too.

The Oregon Ducks HC made a sweet admission on how the collaboration with Nike brought a transformation in him. Meanwhile, 2025 has ushered in some change in Lanning’s fortunes as well. The Oregon HC left behind Texas Longhorns’ HC Steve Sarkisian with his newly signed contract extension.

The Nike Effect on Dan Lanning

Back in October last year, a group of Oregon alumni and donors created the collective known as Division Street. The purpose? Well, the organization combined their experiences in branding, marketing, sponsorship, and design to benefit Ducks’ student-athletes. This further boosts their NIL opportunities. The turning point came with Division Street collaborating with Nike to create the ‘What The Duck’ Dunk Low collection. Designer Tinker Hatfield dropped two collections, ‘Home’ and ‘Away’. Both the sneakers reflected on 25 years of iconic uniforms from the Oregon Ducks. The craze to own the pairs got out of hand among the fans. So much so, that the New York Police Department had to shut down the release. Surprisingly, in the process, Lanning too caught the sneaker bug.

On March 12, the Unafraid Show with George Wrighster hosted the Oregon HC where the host did notice a change in Lanning when it came to his fashion game. George Wrighster hit him up with the question, “I see you in videos or something, you got a new fresh pair of sneakers on. Were you into the sneakers before you got here and how has that changed you?” Well, for so long it was only Colorado Buffaloes HC Deion Sanders among the college football coaches who have been known as a sneaker connoisseur. Now Lanning too joins the sneakerhead tribe. The HC happily admits, “I would not say I wasn’t anti-sneaker but I’m definitely into sneakers now.” Why the change though? Lanning reflected on what made him change his style game too.

“Being part of Nike, I think that helps. That’s obviously a big piece of Oregon football and your connection to Nike. And it’s unbelievable company that we get to be a part of and a brand that we want to display. And my closet has grown a lot over the last three years.” Lanning says all this while donning a cute Nike hoodie with the Ducks’ logo. Well, the Nike collab also helped the Oregon HC in his philanthropic projects as well. The Ducks collaborated with Nike for the team’s new ‘Heroes’ uniform designed by his family to show support for those battling cancer. Yes, while fashionably Lanning is a changed man now, he also got a raise financially.   

Dan Lanning overtakes Steve Sarkisian with his new contract 

Well, the Ducks could not afford to lose Lanning anytime soon. So, what they did instead was to lock the doors. The Oregon HC now has a six-year extension that will keep him in Eugene, Oregon through the 2030 college football season. Under the new extension, Lanning will earn a guaranteed base salary of $9.4 million for the upcoming season. It will increase by $200,000 annually through the end of his final contract year. While fans must be going gaga about the hefty figure, here comes the more thrilling part.

Longhorns fans might be upset with the Ducks. After all, as per the projections, Oregon is going to be the No.1 seed and win the 2026 National Championship game over the Texas Longhorns. Now that with the extension, Lanning finds himself within the borders of the 10 highest-paid coaches in the sport entering the 2025 season. In this race, he has left the Longhorns HC Sarkisian behind. 

Going by the rankings, Lanning is at No.4 after leading the Ducks to a 35-6 overall record in three seasons and an undefeated run in conference play in 2024. Oregon now pays their HC $11 million. Whereas, Steve Sarkisian holds the No.5 spot receiving $10.6. Talk about Coach Lanning and the main character energy he’s carrying everywhere he goes.