Oregon head coach Dan Lanning fired back at Michigan's Kyle Whittingham on Wednesday after Whittingham accused the Ducks of outbidding opponents for players through name, image, and likeness (NIL) spending. The exchange adds tension ahead of Saturday's game between No. 16 Oregon and Michigan in Eugene.
Whittingham began the verbal sparring earlier in the week, praising Lanning's recruiting but noting Oregon's $50 million NIL budget allows them to outbid many programs. Lanning responded during his Wednesday press conference, suggesting Michigan's own financial commitments might limit their NIL competitiveness.
"I've got nothing to say to Coach Whitt other than I think he's an unbelievable coach," Lanning said. "I get it. They're spending more of their money now on coaches they're letting go. Maybe it makes it hard to sign players. They've signed a couple of guys with what weren't able to compete with what they decided to do. Maybe a lot of that is tied up in another player, but I don't know."
Lanning's comments appear to reference Michigan's recent firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who received a $10.2 million buyout, and the benching of highly paid freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood in favor of Tommy Carr. Michigan is spending over $30 million on its football program this season but has been eliminated from College Football Playoff contention, while Oregon is one loss away from missing the playoff as well.
