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The College Football Playoff final is set. And there’s no doubt Notre Dame and Ohio State—which beat Texas 28–14 in the semifinals on Friday—can thank the evolution of NIL (name, image, and likeness) for their championship-worthy rosters.
Both the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes have veteran transfer quarterbacks—Riley Leonard and Will Howard, respectively—who joined their new teams last offseason and are each making millions off the field from school collectives and other brand deals.
But the drama around two quarterbacks on already-eliminated CFP teams is showcasing the wild state of college football—and college sports in general—in 2025.
On Friday, former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck announced his decision to transfer to Miami, which shelled out big money to land the star signal caller. Over the weekend, one of Beck’s agents told Front Office Sports that the QB has secured close to $10 million in combined NIL deals in the past 12 months from a combination of his brand deals and money from the Miami NIL collective Canes Connection.
Beck, who has one year of college eligibility remaining, saw his NFL draft stock drop this season. He’ll make far more money this year at Miami than he would have as a rookie in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers also has one year of eligibility remaining, which could be similarly lucrative if he wanted to stay in school. However, ahead of the Cotton Bowl Ewers told ESPN that he does not expect to play college football next season. He did not specifically say he would be entering the NFL Draft.
The Longhorns have Arch Manning, who will be entering his redshirt sophomore season, waiting in the wings to potentially start under center. The price tag for Ewers in the transfer portal has been reported to be as high as $6 million. He has yet to officially announce any decision about his future.
