When I signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a third round draft pick in the 1970s my 3-year contract total compensation was $320,000. One of the incumbent QBs on the roster was the famed Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan. Sully had been a second round pick out of Auburn and a 1st-team All-America. It stands to reason Pat’s compensation exceeded mine. But the big joke among the veteran Falcons around the locker room was that “Sully took a pay-cut when he left Auburn and went to work in the NFL”.
I never confirmed Pat’s compensation at Auburn or with the Falcons, but I never heard him deny the accusation. It’s worth noting that Pat Sullivan was a complete Southern gentleman who certainly would never “kiss and tell” regarding anyone’s improprieties, including his own. But today we’ve entered a new era – one where college football players are paid big-time money, and it’s all above board.
House vs NCAA Settlement
In a landmark move, Judge Claudia Wilken, a district judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of California last month finalized the House vs the NCAA lawsuit, nearly five years after Arizona State swimmer, Grant House sued the NCAA and its five biggest conferences to lift restrictions on revenue sharing.
The Settlement Terms:
- Schools may now share up to $20.5 million per year with student-athletes starting July 1, 2025
- $2.7 billion will be distributed over the next decade to former student-athletes dating back to 2016.
- The $20.5 million represents 22% of revenue schools receive from media rights, ticket sales, sponsorships, etc
- Payments will grow by 4% annually through 2035.
Who Gets What?
The challenge for all universities that opt-in to the plan is allocating that $20.5 million across, say, the 21 varsity sports and 600 athletes at the University of Georgia? According to The Georgia Bulldog Club, the university already provides scholarships for tuition, fees, room, board and books totaling over $11 million. The $20.5 million will be incremental to those costs.
Each school sets its own distribution formula, but Georgia AD Josh Brooks told the Atlanta Journal Constitution recently it closely follows the backpay model: 75% for football, 15% for men’s basketball, and 5% for women’s basketball.
For college Quarterbacks, this is a windfall. On3, the NIL valuation tracker lists Texas’ Arch Manning ($6.8 mil), Miami’s Carson Beck ($4.3 mil), LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier ($3.8 mil ) as the top valued QBs along with a dozen other college QBs listed with NIL valuations over $2 million.
So if the House settlement has established $20.5 million distribution limits per school, how are star athletes getting 10% or more of the budget? Well, the biggest stars will be supplemented with third-party NIL cash.
Boosters are Still in the Game!
But now they are no longer dealing under the table. Gone are the days of envelopes stuffed with cash, or “no-show” part-time jobs. Yup, all the fun is gone. Boosters no longer require creativity. Just a checkbook.
Compliance
The member schools in the Power Four conferences (Big 10, SEC, ACC, and Big 12) have formed a group, the so-called “College Sports Commission.” The Commission is now charged with:
- Implementing the House settlement terms governing revenue sharing, NIL deals, and roster limits
- Reviewing all deals worth more than $600. To assist the Commission has hired Deloitte, a Big-4 accounting firm, to ensure each deal is considered a legitimate exchange of business services and in line with the student-athlete’s “fair market value.” (Good luck with that one!)
- Investigating potential violations of the agreement terms and enforcing penalties
Taking a pay-cut to the NFL is no longer a Myth!
Case Study: Carson Beck
After a breakout season at Georgia in 2023 (3,941 yards, 24 TDs, 72.4% completions) Carson Beck was a projected 1st-round pick. But he returned to UGA in 2024 hoping for an SEC title and a shot at being the No.1 pick in the NFL Draft.
It didn’t go as planned. Many felt Carson had been over-rated in 2023 but I don’t see it that way. Georgia’s offensive line regressed, the team led the nation in dropped passes (36) and, yes, Beck’s numbers dipped. His completion rate fell to 64.7% and his INTs doubled from 6 to 12. A shoulder injury in the SEC Championship Game ended his season. In a way, Carson Beck succumbed to the additional weight on his shoulders in 2024.
Beck’s stock fell. From a projected 1st-rounder many draft boards had him as low as a possible day two or day three pick. Team Beck made a pivot: they pulled him from the NFL Draft and entered him into the transfer portal. The result? On3’s Pete Nakos reported Beck will receive approximately $4 million in an NIL deal from the University of Miami – more than two-thirds of what a 3rd-round NFL contract would net OVER FOUR YEARS.
Plus Carson now has the opportunity to build back his NFL stock for the 2026 draft.
Case Study: Quinn Ewers
Ewers had an outstanding career at Texas, holding off Arch Manning as QB1 and leading the Longhorns to the CFP. After the 2024 season Ewers still had another year of eligibility. But, he had played through some injuries and it was doubtful he could hold off Manning for another year.
Quinn’s draft value had been all over the board. He was a favorite son in Austin, Texas and had some outstanding games vs the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma. 33-10 as a starter he helped Steve Sarkisian bring Texas football back to elite status.
Stock Trending Down in NFL but Up in NCAA
I’ve seen Quinn make gutsy throws in critical situations. He’s a baller. But due to injuries, some inconsistent play, and questions about his arm strength, Ewers’ draft stock fell in 2024. At times projected as a first or second rounder in 2024 he had lost some glitter heading into the 2025 draft.
But as a college commodity Quinn’s NIL value soared early in 2025. He was a three year starter with a big-time program and led his team to the CFP. It has been reported that Quinn Ewers received NIL offers from schools, as a one-year rental, as high as $5 million.
Ultimately Quinn Ewers opted for the NFL and had to wait until day three to hear his name called by the Miami Dolphins in round seven. If he sticks with the Dolphins (and it is not a sure thing for a seventh rounder) he will make $4.3 million over four years. So, that’s a lot of cheese he just passed over for a shot at The Show.
Case Study: Shedeur Sanders
And then, of course, there is the well documented saga of QB Shedeur Sanders. You recall Deion’s son, the guy who showed up on Colorado’s campus driving a Rolls Royce prior to even completing his first pass as a Bison? The same QB who put up huge passing numbers while getting sacked a total of 94 times in his two seasons in Boulder?
Shedeur reportedly earned $6.5 million in NIL money at Colorado in 2024 and could have returned for his final year of eligibility. He was at the helm of a 9-4 season with 37 TDs against 10 INTs.
He completed an impressive 74.0% of his passes but there were the 94 sacks over the two seasons at Boulder. NFL questions were arm strength, decision-making and character.
Does Mel Know?
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper was all in with the Sanders family. He had Shedeur at the top of the QB list and as high as the first or second pick on his draft board. There was no question Sanders would forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.
There was one more critical test however, the NFL combine. The combine not only rates athletic skill sets, it also tests IQ and character. Shedeur opted out of all of the throwing and on-field drills at the combine. He did, however, opt-in to the one-on-one interviews with interested teams. Here are some of the reports:
How did The Interview Go?
YahooSports writer Chris Cwik quoted a longtime NFL assistant who said Sanders was “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life. He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames his teammates … but the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
SI’s Albert Breer, in an article by Jake Fenner of the Daily Mail, revealed Shedeur was asked by a scout to explain one of his ten interceptions from last year. Breer relates, “He throws a bad interception… they show him the interception in the meeting, and ask ‘what happened here?’ Sanders responds, ‘Well, I like to get into a rhythm earlier in the game.’ ’They get into it over that and Sanders conclusion is ‘Well, maybe I’m not for you.’
And that is precisely what many NFL teams began to think about Shedeur Sanders.
Draft Day Three
On draft day 2025 as Sanders fell down the board following Cam Ward’s selection by the Titans as the 1st pick, Mel Kiper became unraveled. As the third round closed on Day Two with Sanders still on the board Kiper shared “I’m just disgusted. That’s all I have to say.”
Except he added on Day Three after Shedeur was finally selected in the fifth round, “The NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks … Clueless.”
Well Mel, if you are going to rule out leadership, decision-making and values in your QB evaluations, I’d say the NFL isn’t the only clueless source when it comes to QB evaluation.
Atonement?
Since draft day what has Shedeur Sanders done to improve his value in Cleveland’s Quarterback Room? You know, prove everybody wrong?
Well on June 6 the Brown’s rookie was cited by the Ohio State Patrol for driving 91 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 71 just outside Cleveland. On June 17, The day after he missed his arraignment on that citation, Mr Sanders was again pulled over at 12:24 a.m. in Strongville, Ohio going 101 mph in a 60-mph zone. No report on whether Mel Kiper was riding shotgun.
Talk About a Pay-Cut!
Shedeur earned an estimated $6.5 million in NIL at Colorado in 2024. But his free-fall in the draft, going in the 5th round to the Cleveland Browns cost him plenty. As the 144th pick he is slotted to make $4.6 million OVER FOUR YEARS. IF, he makes the team each of the four years.
The Tide Has Turned
There are now over 25 QBs on NFL rosters earning less than $2 million annually. In contrast, On3 lists a dozen plus college QBs with NIL valuations of $2 million or greater.
The mythical pay cut Pat Sullivan supposedly took? It’s no longer a locker-room joke. It’s a real decision modern Quarterbacks face. And increasingly, the smart money- literally and figuratively – might say: stay in school.
Is this good for the game? Doubtful. Should college athletes get a share? Absolutely. Is this the final form of the new NCAA play-for-pay system? Almost certainly not.