You’ve probably heard this one before: when Phil Knight is gone, Oregon football is done. It’s been repeated by opposing fans for years, and the assumption behind it is that Oregon has money because Phil Knight has money. Some people think that once Phil Knight is out of the equation, eventually, the Ducks will come crashing back down to earth.

That argument has always ignored how much Oregon football has grown as a business in the last few decades. According to Yahoo Sports, in 2025 the football program generated $119.6 million in revenue, with a net of $58.8 million and expenses of $60.8 million.

The Ducks aren’t being kept alive by checks from a billionaire donor, far from it. The program makes a lot of money on its own with ticket sales, merchandise and donations, but it needs more if it wants to stay ahead of the pack.

Oregon is ranked 16^th with an $880 million valuation and $169 million in 2024 revenue. That’s ahead of Washington at 24^th for $795 million and Indiana at 27^th for $775 million. The Ducks had a 13% increase in year-over-year value change, which is massive.

On3

Times Square to Tokyo: How Oregon is Building a Global Brand

Over 40 years ago the Ducks played a game in Tokyo in front of 65,000 fans. Now they're trying to tap back into that market and go global.

5 minutes ago, NJDuck said:

when Phil Knight is gone

I do not see his donations stopping with his heartbeat. Seems to me people have wills and trusts that make future donations/foundations flourish.

Just . . . Count on It