NIL money has been a contentious issue in today’s college football, as it has seen a big shift in interest among young athletes. They are now able to ink substantial contracts and make more money than even NFL rookies. Is that why college athletes are spending more time declaring for the big league? A recent comparison between NFL star Brock Purdy and Peyton Manning’s nephew, Arch Manning, has shown exactly this.
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Brock Purdy has been balling ever since he took over as QB for the 49ers and has been leading the NFL MVP race this season. Despite being in his 2nd season, Mr. Irrelevant makes a quarter of what the Longhorns backup QB is valued for. Brock was paid $870,000 for the 2023 season, which is 3 times less than the $3.2 million that Arch earned through NIL money.
CRAZY: Arch Manning, the backup quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, earned approximately $3.2 million in NIL money this season.
Brock Purdy the #NFL‘s heavy favourite to win MVP, per @betonline_ag, was paid $870,000 for the 2023 season. 3 TIMES LESS
(Via @ChrisLaw) pic.twitter.com/w9GSppYVrk
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 21, 2023
Purdy has played in 23 games across 2 of his seasons in the league, starting all 14 this season. He has thrown for over 5000 yards with 42 TDs. On the other hand, Arch Manning spent his first year in Texas as a redshirt QB. He has played in a handful of snaps and completed just 2 passes for 30 yards. However, he has recently been named as the backup QB for the college football playoffs.
Fans Had a Mixed Reaction to Brock Purdy Making Less Than Arch Manning
The 49ers QB was quite irrelevant 18 months ago. Since then, he has led his team to the NFC Championship last season and will be hoping to take them a step further this season. Despite his meteoric rise in the NFL, he is still making considerably less money than 18-year-old Arch Manning. Fans couldn’t believe this income disparity and had a mixed reaction. One of the fans said, “All part of the process of ruining football at the end of the day.”
All part of the process of ruining football at the end of the day.
— (@BurntByBateman) December 21, 2023
While another chimed in and said, “I love it. Finally, the NCAA has to pay kids that bring in the money.”
This fan couldn’t believe it: “This is insane.”
Another fan stated, “His last name tells a story, a big story. Nobody knew Purdy 18 months ago.”
This fan didn’t hesitate before giving a reality check. He wrote, “If Purdy was eligible to go back to college right now he still wouldn’t get 3.2 million in NIL money”
If Purdy was eligible to go back to college right now he still wouldn’t get 3.2 million in NIL money
— RizzoTheRatSports (@RizzoTheRat21) December 21, 2023
Several fans feel that with NIL, young athletes are prioritizing money over sport and education. A few even noted that these are college athletes and shouldn’t be paid at all.
As NIL money is not paid by or through universities, it has led to the creation of ‘collectives’. These collectives raise millions of dollars to essentially recruit the top high school talent to specific universities, giving them an unfair advantage. Currently, no NCAA regulation forces the schools to hand over their NIL data to anyone. So this lack of transparency usually hurts college athletes in determining their own NIL worth, as per Villanova Sports Law.
Nevertheless, it’s no secret that Arch Manning is going to rule the spotlight for a long time. But the Manning name comes with some expectations and scrutiny. While his college career is off to a good start, Texas fans will hope that their highly-rated prospect plays more next year. The Longhorns clash with the Washington Huskies in the college playoffs in the Sugar Bowl next month.
Purdy and San Francisco became the first team to qualify for the playoffs. The 3 game-losing run between weeks 6 and 8 has been long forgotten. They are now 11-3 and have already clinched the NFC West division title. They are the NFC top seed and take on the AFC top seed of the Baltimore Ravens in a repeat of the 2013 Super Bowl.
