Quinn Ewers Bet on NFL Over NIL—and Left Millions on the Table

Quinn Ewers would have made much more money this year by staying in school.

The Dolphins selected the former Texas quarterback in the seventh round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, slotting Ewers, the 231st pick, into a contract worth roughly $4.33 million. That four-year deal is most likely worth less than the NIL (name, image, and likeness) money Ewers could have in 2025 alone by transferring to another school and by playing out his final year of NCAA eligibility.

Ewers’s draft vs. NIL decision was a hot topic during Texas’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals, with reports of schools offering the quarterback up to $6 million to transfer. Ultimately, Texas named rising redshirt sophomore Arch Manning its starting quarterback for 2025, as expected, and Ewers entered the draft.

Before the 2024 college football season, some draft experts projected Ewers as a potential first-round pick. (Should he enter the draft, Manning is already gaining traction as a possible top-five pick in 2026.) Ewers’s stock fell throughout the season, though, and when he declared, he was mostly seen as a Day 2 pick at best.

On Saturday, Ewers said he was “happy” that he went through the adversity he did during the end of his college career. Before the draft, Ewers said he had no regrets about turning pro, in part because he didn’t want to play for another school besides Texas.

Other Side of the Story

Ewers’s story is not over, of course. But his slide to the seventh round comes in great contrast to No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who made a massive leap in 2024 by doing what Ewers opted not to do this year—transferring and using a fifth year of eligibility. 

Ward initially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft after playing four seasons of college football (2020 and 2021 at Incarnate Word, 2022 and 2023 at Washington State). At the time, he was seen as a Day 3 selection.

But Ward transferred to Miami, where his play made him the consensus No. 1 pick in 2025, all while cashing in from the Canes Connection NIL collective and signing deals with major brands like Adidas and Bose. 

As the top pick, Ward will sign a four-year, $43 million contract.