Former USC and Pitt quarterback Max Browne has a bold financial plan to turn Oregon State into a college football powerhouse, and he wants newly departed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to fund it. Browne believes the multi-billionaire, who attended college in Eugene, can instantly outspend almost every program in the country to transform his alma mater.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
This week, Huang resigned as the Nvidia CEO following reports of a couple of affairs, with one involving a woman U.S. officials reportedly believe works for Chinese intelligence. He handed in his resignation on Thursday after the New York Times reported a second affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him. Stepping down from his daily duties leaves Huang with sudden free time and a battered public image, giving Browne an opening to pitch a fresh legacy project back at his alma mater.
Now, Browne is revisiting a business idea he first floated two years ago, as he reposted his video on X: “Jensen Huang might finally have time to execute the vision I laid out for him 2 years ago… build a college football dynasty in Corvallis.”
“Jensen Hong doesn’t love football,” Browne said, according to a video uploaded on his YouTube channel on June 6, 2025. “He just needs to hate losing to his rival, Oregon. And what should scare Oregon folks is that Phil Knight is rich. But Jensen Hong is rich rich. Nvidia is 36 times richer than Nike. 50 mil is too much. Jensen Huang is worth 118.2 billion [based on 2025 reports]. We’ve got 50 mil divided by 118.2 billion * 100. What does that equal? That equals 0.0423%. For easy math, let’s say you make 100 grand a year.”
Well, as of September 2026, the former Nvidia CEO actually has a net worth of $144.7B according to Forbes. So a $50M investment amounts to only 0.0346% of Huang’s wealth, which is a bit less than what Browne believes. It’s also about 0.035% or $35 on a $100,000 salary. Browne’s plan is to outbid everyone for a coach, a quarterback, and a defensive line.
He points to Cody Campbell’s Texas Tech Collective, which spent through the portal, and the Red Raiders went 12-1 in the regular season last year. Oregon State is far from that, as the Beavers went 2-10 in 2025, fired Trent Bray after a 0-7 start, and now sit 5-4 under JaMarcus Shephard.
Huang already has ties to Corvallis. He met his wife, Lori, there as engineering lab partners, and in 2022, they gave $50M toward an AI research complex. He hasn’t shown interest in the football team yet, while Shephard has called the program a sleeping giant if Huang comes around. Browne’s version runs through an independent collective, away from the football staff.
Browne mentioned that top programs spend about $30M on rosters, so $50M wouldn’t be overspending. He adds $10M for an Nvidia beer garden at Reser Stadium with Oregon craft brewers, plus charter flights from Portland for home games. But he pointed out that the total would still look small next to Huang’s wealth.
That $30M figure is out of date following the 2024-25 NCAA settlement changes that reshaped college sports spending. Front Office Sports puts Ohio State and Oregon at about $50M in roster spending this year. Schools can pay players directly up to a cap of $20.5M in 2025-26, about $21.6M now, and the rest comes from outside NIL deals.
Oregon State could certainly use the financial backing. The program’s football NIL budget was under $4M last year, making Browne’s proposal a significant opportunity to change its resources. However, Huang’s wealth is largely tied to Nvidia stock, which has fallen about 30% since October 6, adding another wrinkle to the pitch.
Browne takes on the skeptics
Browne also addressed the potential obstacles, arguing that recruiting money is now controlled by the collectives rather than head coaches and that the NCAA has lost much of its authority.
He pointed to AI scouting built in-house by Nvidia engineers, where AI watches high school games live and sends NIL offers through Nvidia’s cloud. This comes to the advantage of the young players who score in Georgia and get a $500,000 Tesla deal before the head coach gets involved. Browne says that money doesn’t guarantee wins but buys the fastest path, and he cites Texas A&M’s estimated $25M 2022 class, which ranked at No. 1.
“If you can deliver them [the coaches] top talent, they’re not going to complain,” Browne said. “Which brings us to objection number four. You still need a great coach and a recruiting pipeline. Money doesn’t guarantee you success, but it does give you the fastest path to finding it. If Oregon State wants a better coach, they can just outbid 99% of the country with Jensen’s money. If they want a five-star recruit, they can make sure he’s flown in on a first-class NIL deal.”
For now, Huang has much bigger legal and corporate battles to fight than college football. Still, Browne’s core point stands: Oregon has leaned on Nike co-founder Phil Knight for decades, while Oregon State has a far wealthier alum sitting on the sidelines.