Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano Gets Candid On NIL Gap Before Oregon Ducks Game

The Oregon Ducks are traveling east to play Rutgers for the first time in program history. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano addressed the NIL gap with teams like the Ducks while also providing candid comments about the Scarlet Knights effort of the NIL launch for homecoming weekend.

Rutgers coach greg schiano Autzen Stadium Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning College Football dante moore NIL name image likeness rich | Darby Winter / Oregon Ducks on S

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks are traveling east to play Rutgers for the first time in program history. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano addressed the NIL gap with teams like the Ducks while also providing candid comments about the Scarlet Knights effort of the NIL launch for homecoming weekend.

After suffering a home loss to Indiana, the Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) look to bounce back vs. Rutgers (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) - but the Scarlet Knights should not be overlooked.

Oregon enters the matchup 2-0 on the road this season, carrying the nation’s longest active road winning streak - nine straight victories - as it heads to the East Coast.

Rutgers coach greg schiano Autzen Stadium Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning College Football dante moore NIL name image likeness rich | jake bunn

What Schiano Said About NIL Gap Before Oregon Ducks Game

During his Monday press conference, Schiano was asked about the difference in NIL budget between Rutgers and Oregon. Schiano did not bite on the opportunity to discuss the Ducks' NIL spending. After coaching for more than 35 years, Schiano avoided bulletin board comments but did have some notable things to say.

"Yeah, how wide the gap is really doesn’t matter. That’s where we find ourselves today, right? So I’ve never believed in that," Schiano said. "People like to talk about these gaps, and there are, but that’s not new. I’ve been doing this for 37 years. There’s always been haves and have-nots, right? I think the gaps are actually gonna start to close a little bit, which is good."

"I think if you look at it like any other business, you tell me, how is it in your business? If one publication can pay $5 for their writer and another can pay $20 for a writer, usually the guy who’s paying $20 is gonna get the more established or veteran writer, the better writer, if you wanna say that," Schiano continued.

Rutgers Head Coach, Greg Schiano watches his Scarlet Knights, Thursday, August 28, 2025. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon's Visit Is Rutgers' NIL Launch

Rutgers - which is positioned in the heart of the nation's No. 1 media market (New York) - will utilize the Ducks game as an NIL activation launch. The program will host several events surrounding Rutgers Homecoming Weekend with the goal to strengthen awareness and positioning of the "R NIL" brand.

Schiano opened up when discussing the NIL efforts Rutgers is making - or lack thereof.

"We haven’t tried it. Let’s be real now," Schiano said. "I’m not gonna get into what we do have and what we, we have not tried. All due respect to everybody who put forth their effort, we have not tried it... Not at a Division I level, forget Big Ten level... The only people who have done it is the guy you’re standing there looking at."

"Now, we have a plan," Schiano continued. "So leave it at that... There has been no efforts of the level that it takes to play in the Big Ten. I’m not saying that people haven’t tried... What it takes to win in the Big Ten, you can’t even say it’s minuscule close. And that’s it. That’s the end of the conversation."

Sounds like Schiano is glad the program is moving in the right direction but feels the efforts are late.

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Ducks' NIL Is Hot Topic

In Week 2, then-Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy stirred the pot ahead of his matchup with Oregon, claiming the Ducks had spent $40 million on their roster and suggesting they schedule non-conference opponents with similar budgets.

Ever the motivator, Lanning transformed Gundy’s remarks into a rallying point for his team.

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning before Oklahoma State Cowboys game | Darby Winter / Oregon Ducks on S

"I told our team right before the game that it never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick a-- but it never hurts when somebody pours gasoline on the fire," Lanning said after the Ducks beat Oklahoma State, 69-3.

Lanning also told Wake Up Barstool that Gundy's "numbers were off."

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The Ducks are set to make their first-ever trip to Piscataway, N.J., where college football was born. Rutgers hosted Princeton there on Nov. 6, 1869, in the sport’s very first intercollegiate game.

Oregon vs. Rutgers kicks off from SHI Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18 (3:30 p.m. PT, Big Ten Network).