Dante Moore shook the college football world when he announced via ESPN SportsCenter that he was returning to Oregon for another season. It’s not a bad decision, but the risk involved may not make it worth it. The only person that probably sees this as a terrible decision is Dylan Raiola, who just days ago, announced he was committing to the Ducks after leaving Nebraska.
"With my decision, it's been very tough. I've prayed a lot about it, talked to many people -- my mentors and people I look up to. With that being said, of course I'll be coming back to Oregon for one more year, being able to play for the Oregon Ducks and reach our goal and be national champions,” Moore said during his announcement on ESPN.
"Of course, I'll be coming back to Oregon for one more year."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 14, 2026
Dante Moore tells SportsCenter that he's running it back with the Ducks to chase a national championship next season 😤 pic.twitter.com/8YpwVafPjJ
Sound familiar?
Drew Allar. Garrett Nussmeier. Both spurned the NFL to go back to Penn State and LSU respectively, seeking national championships. That didn’t happen and now neither are truly considered top quarterback prospects in this upcoming draft. So why did Moore feel he was better suited for another year of college than starting his professional career?
Dante Moore’s decision to return to Oregon leaves a lot of money on the table
Returning isn’t about money either. Assuming he gets a new NIL deal, he’s probably going to be making in the neighborhood of $5 million, seeing that’s how much Brendan Sorsby reportedly inked with Texas Tech. For context, Cam Ward has a fully guaranteed contract at $48.7 million and Jayden Daniels has a fully guaranteed contract at $37.75 million. Ward was the No. 1 overall pick last year and Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.
That's a poor financial decision to forego that kind of money just to take an NIL deal back in college.
I agree Moore could benefit from another season of college ball. Oregon’s two losses this season – both to Indiana – proved that Moore just isn’t quite as polished as he could be. He struggled throughout the season at times from a consistency standpoint, but he was a 3,500-yard passer with 30 touchdown passes.
In games like the Iowa game, Washington game and even the USC game, he showed just why he’s NFL ready. Sure the Iowa game wasn’t his best, but he orchestrated a game-winning drive to keep Oregon’s CFP hopes alive at the time. Those moments showed why he should be headed to the NFL Draft.
He either hates the New York Jets, or truly doesn’t think he’s ready for the NFL. If he thinks going back to school to win a national championship is worth it, he must have forgotten about Allar and Nussmeier too.
Dante Moore could end up like Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier with championship aspirations
Allar had a season-ending injury that will pretty much make him an undrafted free agent in April at best and Nussmeier was underwhelming at LSU this past season and has dropped to possibly a late day two or day three pick. This is what Moore is putting at risk by going back to Oregon.
The Las Vegas Raiders have the No. 1 pick and the Jets have the No. 2 pick. They both need quarterbacks, so he was very much going to be one of the first players taken. Hopefully he wins that national championship because if he doesn’t, it will ultimately be a decision that could haunt his football career.
He could very well get what he wants next season, but why risk injury, the money and the draft stock on a maybe. He’s been atop most mock drafts. Unless he knows something we don’t, the risk of going back to college isn’t worth it for a national championship with what he’s passing up on.