Oregon Surplus Sale Sparks Debate Over Millions In Potential Value

The Oregon Ducks equipment surplus sale has long carried a Christmas morning feel for fans: racks of team-issued gear, rare finds and limited pieces all available for purchase.

But according to collectibles insider Darren Rovell, that same tradition also opens the door to a larger conversation about value in today’s NIL era.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore throws a pass during warmups as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana State Bobcats on Aug. 30, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rovell, a longtime collector and founder of Cllct, points to Oregon as the No. 1 most powerful brand in the collectibles space and believes the program sits at the center of where the market could be heading. When Rovell posted on X that Oregon is leaving millions of dollars on the table, Oregon Ducks on SI reached out to him to get further context.

The sale is set for Saturday, May 2, at the Moshofsky Center next to Autzen Stadium, running from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or until all items are sold. Past sales have included limited-edition Nike gear.

As NIL and memorabilia intersect in today's college football, Rovell’s perspective highlights both the demand surrounding Oregon’s gear and the broader evolution of the collectibles market.

Below are five questions and answers from Rovell.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning leads his team onto the field as the Oregon Ducks host the Montana State Bobcats on Aug. 30, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Q: Regarding Oregon’s surplus sale, you posted on X that Oregon could be leaving millions on the table. Can you elaborate?

Rovell: Many schools and many states have these surplus sales. Sometimes they are required by law, actually. The issue is there hasn’t been a reset since game-used items have become valuable, which means that many of these items are going for way too cheap. I know the fan says well, that’s awesome. Let us have ours.

But in the era of NIL, leaving money on the table is valuable money that could be used or even split with players to make them more likely to come to Oregon.

Schools like Oregon see selling these items at cost as a way to make back their money. The issue is they are looking at many of these items as what they are alone. There is no one on their side that helps them productize a bunch of these items to make it into something greater.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore celebrates a touchdown as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Q: If you were ranking the hottest brands in college memorabilia, where does Oregon sit? Are there specific players or items that stand out as especially coveted?

Rovell: Oregon is probably no. 1 in terms of collectibility. That’s driven by the Nike player exclusives. One of the pieces of gold in these surplus sales are player exclusive shoes made just for Oregon. It’s also obviously what drives some to Oregon.

Between the uniforms and all the looks, an Oregon player probably gets more than any other player on any other school, which is also why a surplus sale like this is exciting to fans. It’s more of a treasure hunt. You never know what you are going to find!

Phil Knight looks around the newly expanded Autzen Stadium during a visit to the last scrimmage before the 2002 season. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Q: Some fans see surplus sales as a loyalty reward and a rare chance to own authentic gear. How can Oregon balance rewarding fans while also maximizing the value of premium pieces?

Rovell: I get the fans saying we deserve this, but I think they also understand that the cost of doing business is going up. Some of the prices at this sale don’t make sense versus what Oregon can make. Let’s look at jerseys. Names are often taken off the jerseys because there’s not a deal with the player. That really doesn’t serve anyone. It doesn’t serve the fan because they don’t get the complete jersey.

It doesn’t serve the school because they don’t get the complete value and it doesn’t serve the player because they don’t make money from it. So maybe there’s a compromise. Maybe there’s NIL deals with players here where the name stays on the jersey, the jersey autographs and everyone gets what they want. Imagine if the surplus sale had a player autograph signing too, so you can your blank items signed?

Q: Looking ahead, could the NIL era transform college memorabilia into a much bigger business than schools realize today?

Rovell: Coming off the last question. It’s hard for the schools to do memorabilia deals with the players because they already up against the cap. That’s where we come in in that we do deals with the players. Players said in the past they came to Oregon because of all the cool looks. Imagine if they said they came to Oregon because they understood that Oregon would help them make the most money off their memorabilia if they had a great career.

I think that’s the next one of the next big advantages — schools that can monetize off this hot market and players who can benefit from a school that does this really well,.

The Oregon Duck adorns the uniforms as the Oregon Ducks host the Maryland Terrapins at Autzen Stadium Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Q: Which colleges are doing memorabilia the “right” way, and what do they understand about value, scarcity and fan demand that others may be missing?

Rovell: One of there reasons my company cllct started advising schools and teams. To date, schools have outsourced game used by selling it off to third parties. We think that schools do this themselves with our help. Why? Because fans have the most confidence buying from the schools themselves and the schools have the database of fans to reach versus the third parties.

We help and train schools to authenticate on site and our tech will make it possible to get from “field to fan” in minutes if it’s desired. There are not many schools who are doing it right today, but in the next five years, I think athletic directors will find that they are going to need to do it right in order to pay for NIL.
Schools are totally underprepared for capitalizing on the moment should something incredible happen — whether they want to preserve it or monetize it.

Oregon’s Dante Moore celebrates during the first half of he Oregon Spring Game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene April 25, 2026 | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The college football landscape around NIL and memorabilia continues to evolve, conversations like the one raised by Rovell reflect just how much value and opportunity exist in this space... Especially with the Ducks. Oregon is already a major winner in the NIL space, for example the Ducks' recent announcement about this historic partnership in Japan.

Whether that approach changes or stays the same, Oregon’s surplus sale sits at the center of a growing conversation about what college memorabilia is really worth and where it could go next.

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