Mike Gundy responds to backlash from Oregon NIL comments: 'I was being very complimentary'

In the lead-up to this week’s matchup against Oregon, Mike Gundy discussed the Ducks’ resources and commitment in the NIL era. It led to a strong response on social media, and the Oklahoma State head coach clarified those remarks Thursday.

Speaking on SiriusXM College Sports Radio, Gundy said he was complimenting Oregon’s investment. He specifically mentioned Dante Moore’s talent at quarterback and how it could cost “a lot of money” to keep him, while also hinting at the disparity in spending between the Ducks and Cowboys. That generated a response from Dan Lanning, as well.

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Gundy said Lanning was correct in his assessment of the ever-changing landscape in the rev-share era. He also expressed his appreciation for Oklahoma State’s efforts.

“A little bit of that was was taken out of context,” Gundy said. “The truth of the matter is, I was being very complimentary of Oregon and their commitment. The other things that had been said that day were that they made a huge commitment to facilities, as we know. They’ve made a huge commitment to their staff, they’ve made a huge commitment to their surrounding staff and then, they’ve made a huge NIL commitment.

“The thing that people have to understand is I’m very, very appreciative of what we’ve done here at Oklahoma State. Our administration is trying and doing everything they can to facilitate us in the NIL window. You hear the term ‘donor fatigue,’ I can only imagine the donors across the country at maybe other than, what, 12, 15, 18 schools. Continuing to ask for more money is extremely difficult. But the truth of the matter is this – and what Dan said is exactly right. Everything he said is true in the fact that it’s a different time and it’s a tremendous strain on universities and donors.”

Mike Gundy: ‘We have to have a plan’

Following approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, schools can now share up to $20.5 million directly with athletes through rev-share. The majority of those dollars are widely expected to go toward football.

But there’s also the third-party NIL component, which is where the NIL Go clearinghouse comes into play. Data released Thursday shows the system cleared nearly $80 million worth of NIL deals.

Mike Gundy said he doesn’t see things changing much, with regard to third-party NIL deals. That’s why he said schools need to have a plan in place to navigate the financial side of the equation when making its investments.

“The concern is we went through this revenue-sharing and third-party NIL [deals], it doesn’t look like are going to change much,” Gundy said. “The only thing that looks like has changed to me is the universities have a $21 million budget line that they have to meet now and the third-party NIL is still going to be in great demand as we move forward. So I think that universities and administrations, we have to have a plan. [We’ve] got to come together and say, ‘What’s the plan? What’s the commitment?’

“And it’s not easy. It’s difficult. Can you imagine being an athletic director and trying to spread out $21 million that you didn’t have last year and make it equal to the other sports, and then also pump enough money in football so those teams can stay alive and have some success?”