Dante Moore, the quarterback for the University of Oregon Ducks, plans to play another year of college football—turning down an eight-figure salary as a result.
The 20-year-old college athlete announced on Wednesday he would remain on the Oregon Ducks for the 2026 season, delaying the draft, where he was expected to be a top-two pick. Last year’s No. 2 draft pick Travis Hunter signed a four-year, $46.65 million deal, and this year’s projected earnings are expected to increase.
“This year, I’ve had many great throws, many great plays, but at the end of the day I feel I can still learn so much more,” Moore said in an interview with ESPN on Wednesday. “As a kid, since I was 4 years old, I’ve dreamed about being in the NFL—but this team, we’ve been through a lot, a lot of people are returning, so we’ve got some exciting things to come this year. I’m excited to keep pushing my team.”
Moore, who threw for threw for 3,565 yards and had 30 touchdowns in the 2025 season, is part of only a small fraction of college football players who have taken more time before going pro: Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck announced in 2011 he would delay NFL entry to finish his architectural design degree, allowing the Carolina Panthers to select Cam Newton as its No. 1 draft pick instead. USC quarterback Matt Leinart made a similar decision in 2005.
