OSU’s Gundy, Oregon’s Lanning Trade Barbs Over Alleged $30 Million Gap

Mike Gundy is already lowering expectations for his team’s matchup with No. 7 Oregon on Saturday.

The Oklahoma State football coach said Monday on his radio show that the Ducks should schedule nonconference games in their own financial weight class.

“What I hear, chatter from coaches around the country, is that non-conference scheduling—and I never thought anybody would ever say this—should be based on the financial situation for each school,” Gundy said. “Oregon is paying a lot, a lot of money for their team. So from a non-conference standpoint, there are coaches saying they should play teams that are spending the same amount of money.”

Gundy said that his Cowboys spent “around $7 million over the last three years,” a far cry from the $40 million that he claimed Oregon spent on its roster last year.

The amount Oregon spent on its vaunted 2024 squad was the subject of much discussion last year, with Washington’s former athletic director claiming the Ducks spent $23 million on players.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning responded Monday. 

“If you want to be a top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning,” Lanning said. “We spend to win. Some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t. … I can’t speak on their situation; I have no idea what they got in their pockets over there.”

The Ducks have long been backed by Nike founder and Oregon alumnus Phil Knight, who has given millions of dollars to the program for practice facilities, uniforms and most recently name, image, and likeness. 

Gundy isn’t the only coach envious of the Ducks. Last year, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Knight, “I wish I could get some of that NIL money he’s giving Dan Lanning.” Lanning was hired by Oregon in 2022 after coaching under Smart at Georgia the previous four seasons.

“I think it’s impressive that guys like Kirby have been signing the No. 1 class in the nation without any NIL money this entire time,” Lanning said on Pat McAfee’s show last July.

Though Oklahoma State sports were long backed by the late oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, the Cowboys’ football program appears to have fallen behind in the NIL and revenue sharing era. A year ago, Gundy publicly called out his players’ agents for asking for more money ahead of the season-opener. The Cowboys went 3–9 in 2024 and missed a bowl game for the first time in nearly 20 years, causing Gundy to bring in 41 new players via the transfer portal. 

In January, Gundy restructured his contract and reduced his pay by $1 million for this season with the money going toward athletes to help the school fund revenue-sharing. 

“I’m sure UT-Martin maybe didn’t have as much as them last week, and they played,” Lanning quipped. “So, we’ll let it play out.”