Transfer Portal Chaos: Record Moves, Star QBs, and NIL Deals Reshape CFB

College football’s transfer portal saw record movement on its opening day, highlighted by several big-time quarterbacks looking to potentially cash in on major NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals—and maybe some new hardware—with new schools.

Around 1,000 FBS players entered the portal Monday, which is nearly double the total from Day 1 a year ago, and it caused an analytics database that many schools use to track movement to temporarily crash, according to 247 Sports.

The biggest headline was Maalik Murphy’s surprise decision to leave Duke after he threw a school-record 26 touchdown passes this season while leading the Blue Devils to a 9–3 record. He won’t play for Duke in the Gator Bowl against Ole Miss on Jan. 2. Murphy, who has at least one major NIL deal with Postmates, transferred from Texas last year and has two years of eligibility remaining.

The Grass Is Always Greener?

Five teams in the College Football Playoff have starting quarterbacks they acquired in last year’s transfer portal: 

• Oregon: Dillon Gabriel (from Oklahoma)
• Arizona State: Sam Leavitt (from Michigan State)
• Ohio State: Will Howard (from Kansas State)
• Notre Dame: Riley Leonard (from Duke)
• Indiana: Kurtis Rourke (from Ohio)

Each of those signal-callers has multiple big-money NIL deals, like the one Leonard signed with Dick’s Sporting Goods after joining the Fighting Irish, following three seasons at Duke.

Heisman finalist Cam Ward, whose Miami Hurricanes narrowly missed out on an ACC championship game appearance and the CFP, was also a major NIL success story this season after transferring from Washington State. Ward, who is now projected to be a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, signed a deal with Miami apparel provider Adidas this fall, adding to deals he already had with Bose and energy drink brand C4.

So, who could cash in next? 

As of Tuesday morning, one ranking from ESPN listed Tulane’s Darian Mensah, USC’s Miller Moss, Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold, Liberty’s Kaidon Salter, and Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman as the top five quarterbacks currently available in the transfer portal. Murphy was sixth. 

Another interesting transfer to watch will be Matthew Sluka, who decided to redshirt after leading UNLV to a 3–0 start, due to a dispute over NIL money. The Rebels finished the regular season 10–2 and ended up in the Mountain West championship game but lost to Boise State, which earned an automatic CFP bid and a bye as the No. 3 seed.