The quarterback conversation this year is going to be a great one, but what we do know is that Julian Sayin and Arch Manning have nearly the same NIL deals.
The quarterback conversation this year is going to be a great one all year long. This year's class of gunslingers is regarded all around the country as being one of the best in a very long time, but each guy brings something different to the table.
Ohio State's Julian Sayin is the surgically accurate one, Dante Moore is the wiley veteran, CJ Carr is the disruptor, Drew Mestimaker is the wild card with a rocket, and Arch Manning is regarded as the all-around best one.
Each of the guys at the top have elite traits, but they have so much to prove.
The fascinating part about this conversation is that in football, it is understood that the quarterback position is the most important one in sports, and at the professional level, they are paid as such.
The market at the college level is actually proving to be a little bit different, as teams are investing heavily in their skill players, and the quarterbacks are paid in the middle. It shows with the NIL deals that both Sayin and Manning have going into the 2026 season.
Both players reportedly are on $2.5M deals for the next year just from their school's collective. Certainly, there are additional marketing opportunities that they are capitalizing on, but it is fascinating to see where they land.
Buckeye's wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is reportedly on a $5M deal, and Texas's wide receiver Cam Coleman is on a reported $3M deal for the Longhorns next year.
As the markets find their level, it will be interesting to see how these things balance out in the future, but for now, Manning and Sayin are in the same tier.
On the field, these two will get to square off for the second time in their careers, with both players having a lot to prove in that week two matchup.
Manning had a slow start to last season, but he picked it up pretty significantly at the end of the year to finish very strong.
For Sayin, it was the opposite story. He had one light game against Texas in week one last year before torching the Big Ten for three straight months, only to fall off in the postseason to end the year.
Both guys have full pockets going into next year, and both players have everything to prove. They will take center stage in week two in Austin for what could be the game of the year in college football next season.
