Dan Lanning, with all the might of Nike behind him, might be leading one of the most winningest programs presently. But it’s USC, whose expensive splurge has paved the way for the Trojans to install one of the winningest future rosters. And all it took was an additional $100k than Oregon to achieve so. All compliments to USC General Manager Chad Bowden.

On Thursday, USA Sports rolled out its survey of Power Four conference football, focusing on the salaries of front office staff of the collegiate football programs. According to that survey, Ducks GM Marshall Malchow makes $900,000 at the Big Ten Program, which falls $100k short of USC’s Chad Bowden’s annual million-dollar deal. And that $100k additional splurge by USC is what has led the Trojans to build the No. 1 2026 class in the collegiate circuit.

There’s no denying that Chad Bowden has transformed the game for the USC Trojans. Within a year, his recruiting efforts have already been evident in USC’s next recruiting class. Boasting double-digit ESPN 300 commits, 19 to be exact, along with landing 17 four-star and 2 five-star commits, Lincoln Riley’s program’s future looks promising. Their top offensive commit is OT Keenyi Pepe, with CB Elbert Hill on the other side of the ball.

The Trojans were further successful in flipping two four-star commits from Oregon itself. Dual-threat quarterback Jonas Williams and Defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui flipped their commitment to Riley’s USC this February and April, respectively. Meanwhile, the Ducks are ranked No. 6 for their 2026 recruiting class.

247Sports Brandon Huffman praised Bowden on his recruiting efforts back in June, saying that it’s the GM’s fingerprints all over the praise. “That’s been a common theme this spring. How many guys that were committed to Oregon or leaning towards Oregon ended up at USC?”

A few years back, Bowden was living in a cramped studio apartment. “It was a pullout couch, it was a bed, and it was a little tiny kitchen,” he said (per the Irish Sports Daily), living from paycheck to paycheck. But little did he know that one day, he would help build the best recruiting class in college football.

From working at a sports agency to selling Google ads, he landed the gig of defensive coordinator at Western Brown High (Ohio), as he had played linebacker in high school.

Eventually, he landed with the Irish and later became their general manager, where he put together four unanimous top-12 recruiting classes, according to all four major recruiting sites. After four years, USC locked him in with a multi-year $1 million deal to build its future recruiting classes. His hiring came after the Trojans recorded a 7-6 season, winning the Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M. “His outstanding body of work in recruiting and roster management is recognized throughout the country,” Lincoln Riley had said during his arrival.

Chad Bowden on working with Lincoln Riley

After a 7-6 record, expectations were high for Lincoln Riley, whose $90 million hot seat was quick to grab headlines. To make the program lucrative and happening, he needed a robust recruiting class for his next season, and as asked, Chad Bowden delivered. “We’ve worked really well together,” Riley said.

Bowden trusted Riley’s leadership when he was facing the heat for his last campaign. “It’s only a matter of time until it gets back. And I think it’s so close,” he had said on Big Ten Football. “That’s the one thing people don’t understand: how close we really are. Obviously, I wasn’t here last year. But obviously, I know how close it was last year.”

Riley further added how the duo works in tandem to maximise the potential at USC.  “You mentioned the outside-the-box thinking. That’s one of the things that we found common ground on pretty quickly. It’s something we both take pride in and both appreciate and try to be good at. It’s been great to work with him,” he said per SI.

Bowden is the son of The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, who was the former GM of the Cincinnati Reds. Chad learned all the tricks of the trade from his father when he would accompany him to the negotiation meetings.