What is the typical college quarterback NIL package at a top program in 2027?

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Direct Answer

The typical starting quarterback at a top-25 college football program in 2027 earns a blended package of $2.0M to $4.5M per year, with the superstar tier ($5M-$12M+) reserved for proven Power-4 starters or generational recruits like Arch Manning ($6.8M) and Bryce Underwood ($10M-$12.5M over four years).

The package is two checks: a direct revenue-share line from the school under the $20.5M House v. NCAA cap (usually $800K-$1.8M for the QB1), plus a third-party NIL stack from the program's collective and national brand deals (Nike, Red Bull, EA Sports, Powerade, Uber, Hollister).

The cap-constrained school check is uniform across programs; the collective-and-brand stack is what creates 10x variance between an SEC blueblood QB1 and a Group-of-5 starter.

Published 2026-06-03 — Updated 2026-06-03

1. The Typical 2027 Top-Program QB Package, By The Numbers

A starting quarterback at a top-25 FBS program in 2027 is no longer paid in a single number — he is paid in three stacked buckets that together define his "package."

1.1 The Three Stacks

Revenue-share check from the school (capped pool, $20.5M in Year 1, escalating ~4% annually). The QB1 typically pulls 5-9% of the football allocation. At a school dedicating 75% of the $20.5M to football (~$15.4M), the QB1 line ranges $770K-$1.4M.
Collective payment (booster-funded LLC, outside the cap). At an SEC/Big Ten blueblood the QB1 collective check is $1.5M-$3.5M. At a top-25 program outside the bluebloods it's $500K-$1.5M.
National + regional brand endorsements (true NIL, deliverables-based). For a starter at a top program, $150K-$1.2M; for a star with a national profile (Manning, Beck, Underwood), $2M-$4M+.

1.2 The Median Top-25 QB1 Package In 2027

Blended across the 25 highest-resourced programs (SEC 16, Big Ten 18, top ACC like Miami/Clemson/FSU, and Big 12 anchors like Utah and Texas Tech), the median starting QB1 package runs $2.5M-$3.5M total per year. The mean is dragged up to roughly $4.0M by a handful of outliers.

The floor for any Power-4 QB1 worth keeping is now $1.2M — anything lower and the portal poaches him.

1.3 The Superstar Outliers

Arch Manning (Texas): $6.8M earned in trailing 12 months; $5.4M On3 valuation — #1 athlete in any sport.
Bryce Underwood (Michigan): $10-12.5M four-year package signed as the highest-paid recruit in CFB history; ~$3.1M annual On3 valuation.
Carson Beck (Miami): $4.9M On3 valuation, but ~$10M total income trailing 12 months including transfer package and national deals.
Dante Moore (Oregon): $3.0M annual to return rather than declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Sam Leavitt (Oregon State / portal target): $3.5M-$4.0M annual.

2. Where The Money Comes From — Source-By-Source

The House v. NCAA settlement (effective July 1, 2025) created a per-school annual cap of $20.5M for 2025-26, escalating ~4% per year through the 10-year settlement window. Schools that opt in (every Power-4 program did) can pay athletes directly from athletic-department funds, no booster intermediary required.

Allocation reality: Most opt-in schools route ~75% to football, ~15% to men's basketball, ~5% to women's basketball, ~5% to all others to stay Title-IX-defensible (a moving legal target).
QB1 share of the football pool: 5-9%, depending on year and starter status. A senior returning starter pulls toward the high end; a first-year starter toward the low end.
Contract form: Multi-year, fully-guaranteed at most SEC/Big Ten programs; one-year with mutual options at others. Buyouts for transfer mid-contract are now standard at $500K-$2M.

2.2 The Collective Check (Uncapped, Third-Party)

Collectives like Texas One Fund (Texas), Champions Circle (Michigan), Cavalier Futures (Virginia), Tigers Unlimited (LSU), and The 12th Man+ Fund (Texas A&M) remain the largest single line for elite QBs because the House cap doesn't apply to them.

Structure: LLCs or 501(c)(3) nonprofits pooling donor money, paying the athlete via endorsement-style agreements (appearances, content, licensing).
Typical deliverables for a $2M QB collective deal: 24-36 donor-event appearances/year, 2-4 promotional shoots/month, likeness license to 8-15 partner businesses.
NIL Go clearinghouse review: Deals over $600 must clear a fair-market-value range-of-compensation test run by Deloitte under the College Sports Commission. In practice the clearinghouse has approved 97%+ of submitted deals through Q1 2027.

2.3 National + Regional Brand Endorsements

The visible-but-smaller line. EA Sports College Football 27 ($5K-$15K base + royalties), Nike/Adidas/Hollister ($50K-$500K), Red Bull/Powerade ($100K-$400K), Uber/Lyft ($75K-$250K), car dealerships/local restaurants ($25K-$150K). Manning's Vuori, Uber, Red Bull, EA Sports stack is the template; Beck's Powerade + Leaf Trading Cards + Raising Cane's stack shows the second tier.

3. Position Premium — Why QBs Eat First

3.1 The Two-Thirds Concentration

Quarterbacks occupy roughly two-thirds of the top-25 NIL valuations in college football according to On3's database. Only wide receivers (Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, Ryan Williams at Alabama) crack the QB-heavy upper tier.

3.2 Why The Premium Is Structural

Single-point-of-failure roster math: A program spending $45M on the roster with no QB1 is worth less than a program spending $30M with a star QB1. Underwriters know this.
Brand fit: QBs deliver 40-60% more social engagement per post than skill positions according to Opendorse Q4 2026 benchmarks, which makes them the primary national-brand target.
Insurance value: Schools that keep their QB1 happy avoid the $5M-$10M cost of a transfer-portal replacement plus culture disruption.

3.3 How The Premium Shows Up In Contracts

The QB1 typically earns 3-5x the next-highest non-QB position on the roster and 8-15x the position-room average. A top-25 program with a $30M total football payroll will pay its QB1 ~$3M, its WR1 ~$1.2M, its LT ~$900K, and its 22nd-best player ~$80K.

4. Tier-By-Tier Breakdown At The 25 Top Programs

4.1 Tier 1 — The $5M+ Quarterbacks (5-8 players)

Arch Manning (Texas): $6.8M
Carson Beck (Miami): ~$10M total income, $4.9M On3 val
Bryce Underwood (Michigan): ~$3.1M annual, $10-12.5M total
Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State, WR): included as benchmark — $4.2M
Top transfer-portal QB landings in 2026-27: $3.5M-$5M routinely (per SI/Sports Illustrated reporting on the No. 1 portal QB at $3.5M annually)

4.2 Tier 2 — The $2M-$5M Quarterbacks (10-15 players)

Returning Power-4 starters at SEC/Big Ten/ACC top programs. Dante Moore (Oregon) at $3M, LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) in the $2.5M range, Sam Leavitt projected $3.5-4M post-transfer, Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech) $3.1M. Drew Allar (Penn State), DJ Lagway (Florida), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) all sit in this band.

4.3 Tier 3 — The $1M-$2M Quarterbacks (15-25 players)

First-year Power-4 starters, second-year backups stepping in, top-25-program QB1s outside the bluebloods. Floor for a credible QB1 retention number in 2027.

4.4 Tier 4 — The Below-$1M QB1 (Group of 5 + some bottom of Power 4)

Group-of-5 starters and a handful of Power-4 programs with smaller collectives (Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Boston College, Iowa State pre-2027). Range: $200K-$900K. These rosters are the primary feeder pool for the upper tiers via the portal.

5. Contract Architecture — How A $3M QB Deal Is Actually Structured

5.1 The Two-Document Setup

Revenue-share contract (school-signed): Plain employment-style agreement, direct deposit twice monthly, academic-progress clauses, disciplinary-conduct termination triggers, buyout schedule.
NIL agreement (collective-signed or brand-signed): Deliverables list, exclusivity windows (a QB on a Pepsi deal can't film for Coke), content-approval workflow via INFLCR or Opendorse, morality clauses.

5.2 Payment Cadence

Revenue-share line: monthly or bi-monthly direct deposit.
Collective line: quarterly tranches typical, often front-loaded (40/30/20/10 across the four quarters of the academic year) to lock retention through spring portal window.
Brand deals: per-deliverable or monthly retainer depending on size.

5.3 Performance Triggers (Increasingly Common in 2027)

Conference start (4+ games): $250K-$500K
Bowl-eligibility: $100K-$300K
All-conference selection: $250K-$750K
Heisman finalist invite: $500K-$1M
CFP appearance: $500K-$1.5M

5.4 Mermaid: The Money Flow For A $3M Top-25 QB1

flowchart TD A[Athletic Department Revenue Pool ~$200M] --> B[$20.5M House Cap Pool] B --> C[Football Allocation ~75% = $15.4M] C --> D[QB1 Revenue-Share Check $1.2M] E[Booster Donations to Collective] --> F[NIL Collective LLC] F --> G[QB1 Collective Deal $1.5M] H[National Brands Nike Red Bull EA] --> I[QB1 Brand Stack $300K] D --> J[QB1 Total $3.0M] G --> J I --> J J --> K[Agent 5-10% + Tax + LLC Structure]

6. The Five Programs Setting The 2027 QB Market

6.1 Texas — Arch Manning Anchor

Total football roster spend 2027: ~$45M (reported by Sportico Q1 2027)
Manning total package: $6.8M (collective + brand stack dominant; rev-share line a smaller fraction)
Texas One Fund + AT&T, EA Sports, Red Bull, Uber, Vuori, Panini brand stack

6.2 Michigan — Bryce Underwood Bet

Underwood deal: $10-12.5M over four years, largest HS recruit deal ever
Champions Circle collective + Hollister apparel deal
Roster spend 2027: ~$40M

6.3 Miami — Carson Beck Acquisition

Beck transfer package + brands: ~$10M trailing 12 months
Canes Connection collective + Powerade, Leaf Trading Cards, Raising Cane's national deals
Roster spend 2027: ~$35M

6.4 Ohio State — Julian Sayin + Smith Stack

Sayin (QB1) package: $3.5M-$4M band
THE Foundation collective is the largest in college football by donor count
Roster spend 2027: $45M-$50M (one of three reported $50M payrolls)

6.5 Texas A&M — The $50M Year

Total roster: reported $51M for 2026 by The Athletic
QB1 line: $3M+
12th Man+ Fund collective backs it

7. What This Means For Recruits And Transfers In 2027

7.1 The QB Recruiting Premium

A top-100 HS QB prospect in the 2027 class can now expect a first-year package of $1.5M-$3M at a Power-4 program — the Underwood floor reset the entire HS market. 2028 five-star QB commits are already negotiating $2M-$4M first-year deals with multi-year guarantees.

7.2 The Transfer Portal Spiral

Average top-25-program QB1 transfer-in package in winter 2026 portal: $2.8M.
Top-10 portal QB landings: $3.5M-$5M routinely.
Bidding wars drive 30% premium over the equivalent retention number.

7.3 Mermaid: The 2027 QB Earning Ladder

FAQ

Q1: What does the typical top-25 starting QB actually take home after taxes and agent fees?

A $3.0M gross package nets roughly $1.6M-$1.8M after federal tax (37% top bracket), state tax (varies $0 in Texas/Florida/Tennessee to $400K+ in California), agent fee (5-10%), and LLC accounting costs (~$15K/year). Most top-25 QBs work with agencies like CAA Sports, Klutch Sports, Wasserman, or WME under college-specific NIL contracts.

Q2: How does the $20.5M House cap affect QB pay if the cap is sport-agnostic?

The cap is the school's spending ceiling across all sports, but third-party NIL is uncapped. So a school routes maybe $1.0M-$1.5M of capped money to the QB1, then uncapped collective and brand money stacks on top to reach the $3M-$5M true package. The cap is a floor-builder, not a ceiling.

At most SEC/Big Ten programs, yes — fully guaranteed for the contract year, mirroring NFL veteran contracts. Multi-year deals typically have injury-guarantee clauses for the current year plus 50% of the following year. The collective check is deliverables-based so an injured QB who can still appear at events and shoot content earns nearly the full amount.

Q4: How do collectives stay compliant with the NIL Go clearinghouse?

Every deal over $600 must submit through NIL Go (Deloitte-run) for a range-of-compensation review against comparable market deals. Collectives now structure agreements with explicit deliverables (appearances, content, licensing) priced at fair-market-value comps from Opendorse and INFLCR databases.

Approval rate in Q1 2027 is 97%+.

Q5: Will QB packages keep climbing through the rest of the 2020s?

Yes. The House settlement cap escalates ~4% annually, media-rights deals (Big Ten $7B, SEC $3B) keep growing, and collective fundraising continues hitting records. Industry analysts at Front Office Sports project the median top-25 QB1 package reaches $4M-$5M by 2028 and $6M by 2030, with superstar QBs crossing $10M-$15M annually on combined stacks.

Bottom Line

A typical starting quarterback at a top-25 college football program in 2027 earns $2M-$4.5M per year, structured as a revenue-share check from the school ($800K-$1.8M, capped under the House settlement) plus a collective payment ($1.5M-$3.5M, uncapped) plus a brand-deal stack ($150K-$1.2M).

The superstar tier — Manning, Underwood, Beck, Sayin, Moore — clears $5M-$10M+, with Manning at $6.8M and Underwood's $10-12.5M four-year deal setting the ceiling. The QB position premium is structural: quarterbacks occupy two-thirds of the top-25 NIL valuations because single-point-of-failure roster math makes the QB1 the highest-leverage spend on any roster.

Operators building NIL strategy should budget the QB1 at 8-12% of total football roster spend, lock multi-year guaranteed deals with portal-buyout protection, and layer performance triggers for CFP and Heisman outcomes to align incentives with team success.

Sources

On3 NIL Valuations Database — primary source for athlete-by-athlete valuation numbers, accessed Q2 2027 (on3.com/nil/rankings)
Sports Illustrated / SI.com FanNation — reporting on Arch Manning $6.8M valuation, transfer portal QB market, Underwood retention
CBS Sports — House v. NCAA settlement explainer and Dante Moore decision reporting
The Athletic — Texas A&M $51M roster reporting and program-level NIL spend analysis
Sportico — annual college-athletics revenue and roster-spend databases
Front Office Sports — 2027-2030 projection commentary and collective fundraising tracking
Opendorse — fair-market-value benchmarks for deliverables-based NIL agreements
INFLCR — workflow and compliance data on athlete deal flow
247Sports — transfer portal 2026 QB market reporting and recruiting class valuations
Athlon Sports / Heavy.com — Bryce Underwood $10-12.5M deal reporting and Carson Beck Miami transfer package
ESPN — House settlement timeline reporting and conference-by-conference rev-share opt-in tracking

Keep reading

### Direct Answer

The typical **starting quarterback at a top-25 college football program in 2027** earns a blended package of **$2.0M to $4.5M per year**, with the **superstar tier ($5M-$12M+)** reserved for proven Power-4 starters or generational recruits like **Arch Manning ($6.8M)** and **Bryce Underwood ($10M-$12.5M over four years)**. The package is **two checks**: a **direct revenue-share line** from the school under the **$20.5M House v. NCAA cap** (usually $800K-$1.8M for the QB1), plus a **third-party NIL stack** from the program's **collective** and **national brand deals** (Nike, Red Bull, EA Sports, Powerade, Uber, Hollister). The cap-constrained school check is **uniform across programs**; the collective-and-brand stack is what creates **10x variance** between an SEC blueblood QB1 and a Group-of-5 starter.

---

Published 2026-06-03 — Updated 2026-06-03

## 1. The Typical 2027 Top-Program QB Package, By The Numbers

A starting quarterback at a **top-25 FBS program** in 2027 is no longer paid in a single number — he is paid in **three stacked buckets** that together define his "**package**."

### 1.1 The Three Stacks

- **Revenue-share check from the school** (capped pool, $20.5M in Year 1, escalating ~4% annually). The QB1 typically pulls **5-9%** of the football allocation. At a school dedicating **75% of the $20.5M to football** (~$15.4M), the QB1 line ranges **$770K-$1.4M**.
- **Collective payment** (booster-funded LLC, outside the cap). At an SEC/Big Ten blueblood the QB1 collective check is **$1.5M-$3.5M**. At a top-25 program outside the bluebloods it's **$500K-$1.5M**.
- **National + regional brand endorsements** (true NIL, deliverables-based). For a starter at a top program, **$150K-$1.2M**; for a star with a national profile (Manning, Beck, Underwood), **$2M-$4M+**.

### 1.2 The Median Top-25 QB1 Package In 2027

Blended across the **25 highest-resourced programs** (SEC 16, Big Ten 18, top ACC like Miami/Clemson/FSU, and Big 12 anchors like Utah and Texas Tech), the **median starting QB1 package** runs **$2.5M-$3.5M total per year**. The **mean** is dragged up to **roughly $4.0M** by a handful of outliers. The **floor** for any Power-4 QB1 worth keeping is now **$1.2M** — anything lower and the portal poaches him.

### 1.3 The Superstar Outliers

- **Arch Manning (Texas):** **$6.8M** earned in trailing 12 months; **$5.4M** On3 valuation — **#1 athlete in any sport**.
- **Bryce Underwood (Michigan):** **$10-12.5M four-year package** signed as the highest-paid recruit in CFB history; **~$3.1M annual** On3 valuation.
- **Carson Beck (Miami):** **$4.9M** On3 valuation, but **~$10M total income** trailing 12 months including transfer package and national deals.
- **Dante Moore (Oregon):** **$3.0M** annual to return rather than declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.
- **Sam Leavitt (Oregon State / portal target):** **$3.5M-$4.0M** annual.

## 2. Where The Money Comes From — Source-By-Source

### 2.1 The Revenue-Share Check (Capped, ~$20.5M Pool)

The **House v. NCAA settlement** (effective July 1, 2025) created a **per-school annual cap** of **$20.5M for 2025-26**, escalating ~4% per year through the **10-year settlement window**. Schools that opt in (every Power-4 program did) can pay athletes **directly from athletic-department funds**, no booster intermediary required.

- **Allocation reality:** Most opt-in schools route **~75% to football, ~15% to men's basketball, ~5% to women's basketball, ~5% to all others** to stay Title-IX-defensible (a moving legal target).
- **QB1 share of the football pool:** **5-9%**, depending on year and starter status. A senior returning starter pulls toward the high end; a first-year starter toward the low end.
- **Contract form:** Multi-year, fully-guaranteed at most SEC/Big Ten programs; one-year with mutual options at others. **Buyouts** for transfer mid-contract are now standard at **$500K-$2M**.

### 2.2 The Collective Check (Uncapped, Third-Party)

Collectives like **Texas One Fund** (Texas), **Champions Circle** (Michigan), **Cavalier Futures** (Virginia), **Tigers Unlimited** (LSU), and **The 12th Man+ Fund** (Texas A&M) remain the **largest single line** for elite QBs because the **House cap doesn't apply to them**.

- **Structure:** **LLCs or 501(c)(3)** nonprofits pooling **donor money**, paying the athlete via **endorsement-style agreements** (appearances, content, licensing).
- **Typical deliverables for a $2M QB collective deal:** **24-36 donor-event appearances/year**, **2-4 promotional shoots/month**, **likeness license to 8-15 partner businesses**.
- **NIL Go clearinghouse review:** Deals over **$600** must clear a **fair-market-value range-of-compensation test** run by **Deloitte** under the College Sports Commission. In practice the clearinghouse has approved **97%+** of submitted deals through Q1 2027.

### 2.3 National + Regional Brand Endorsements

The visible-but-smaller line. **EA Sports College Football 27** ($5K-$15K base + royalties), **Nike/Adidas/Hollister** ($50K-$500K), **Red Bull/Powerade** ($100K-$400K), **Uber/Lyft** ($75K-$250K), **car dealerships/local restaurants** ($25K-$150K). Manning's **Vuori, Uber, Red Bull, EA Sports** stack is the template; Beck's **Powerade + Leaf Trading Cards + Raising Cane's** stack shows the second tier.

## 3. Position Premium — Why QBs Eat First

### 3.1 The Two-Thirds Concentration

**Quarterbacks occupy roughly two-thirds of the top-25 NIL valuations in college football** according to On3's database. Only **wide receivers** (Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, Ryan Williams at Alabama) crack the QB-heavy upper tier.

### 3.2 Why The Premium Is Structural

- **Single-point-of-failure roster math:** A program spending **$45M on the roster** with **no QB1** is worth less than a program spending **$30M with a star QB1**. Underwriters know this.
- **Brand fit:** QBs deliver **40-60% more social engagement per post** than skill positions according to **Opendorse** Q4 2026 benchmarks, which makes them the **primary national-brand target**.
- **Insurance value:** Schools that keep their QB1 happy avoid the **$5M-$10M cost** of a transfer-portal replacement plus **culture disruption**.

### 3.3 How The Premium Shows Up In Contracts

The QB1 typically earns **3-5x the next-highest non-QB position** on the roster and **8-15x the position-room average**. A top-25 program with a **$30M total football payroll** will pay its **QB1 ~$3M**, its **WR1 ~$1.2M**, its **LT ~$900K**, and its **22nd-best player ~$80K**.

## 4. Tier-By-Tier Breakdown At The 25 Top Programs

### 4.1 Tier 1 — The $5M+ Quarterbacks (5-8 players)

- **Arch Manning (Texas):** $6.8M
- **Carson Beck (Miami):** ~$10M total income, $4.9M On3 val
- **Bryce Underwood (Michigan):** ~$3.1M annual, $10-12.5M total
- **Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State, WR):** included as benchmark — **$4.2M**
- **Top transfer-portal QB landings** in 2026-27: **$3.5M-$5M** routinely (per SI/Sports Illustrated reporting on the **No. 1 portal QB at $3.5M annually**)

### 4.2 Tier 2 — The $2M-$5M Quarterbacks (10-15 players)

Returning Power-4 starters at SEC/Big Ten/ACC top programs. **Dante Moore (Oregon)** at $3M, **LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina)** in the $2.5M range, **Sam Leavitt** projected $3.5-4M post-transfer, **Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech)** $3.1M. **Drew Allar (Penn State)**, **DJ Lagway (Florida)**, **Garrett Nussmeier (LSU)** all sit in this band.

### 4.3 Tier 3 — The $1M-$2M Quarterbacks (15-25 players)

First-year Power-4 starters, second-year backups stepping in, top-25-program QB1s outside the bluebloods. Floor for a credible QB1 retention number in 2027.

### 4.4 Tier 4 — The Below-$1M QB1 (Group of 5 + some bottom of Power 4)

Group-of-5 starters and a handful of Power-4 programs with **smaller collectives** (Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Boston College, Iowa State pre-2027). Range: **$200K-$900K**. These rosters are the **primary feeder pool** for the upper tiers via the portal.

## 5. Contract Architecture — How A $3M QB Deal Is Actually Structured

### 5.1 The Two-Document Setup

- **Revenue-share contract** (school-signed): Plain employment-style agreement, **direct deposit twice monthly**, **academic-progress clauses**, **disciplinary-conduct termination triggers**, **buyout schedule**.
- **NIL agreement** (collective-signed or brand-signed): **Deliverables list**, **exclusivity windows** (a QB on a Pepsi deal can't film for Coke), **content-approval workflow** via **INFLCR** or **Opendorse**, **morality clauses**.

### 5.2 Payment Cadence

- **Revenue-share line:** **monthly or bi-monthly** direct deposit.
- **Collective line:** **quarterly tranches** typical, often **front-loaded** (40/30/20/10 across the four quarters of the academic year) to lock retention through spring portal window.
- **Brand deals:** **per-deliverable** or **monthly retainer** depending on size.

### 5.3 Performance Triggers (Increasingly Common in 2027)

- **Conference start (4+ games):** $250K-$500K
- **Bowl-eligibility:** $100K-$300K
- **All-conference selection:** $250K-$750K
- **Heisman finalist invite:** $500K-$1M
- **CFP appearance:** $500K-$1.5M

### 5.4 Mermaid: The Money Flow For A $3M Top-25 QB1

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  A[Athletic Department Revenue Pool ~$200M] --> B[$20.5M House Cap Pool]
  B --> C[Football Allocation ~75% = $15.4M]
  C --> D[QB1 Revenue-Share Check $1.2M]
  E[Booster Donations to Collective] --> F[NIL Collective LLC]
  F --> G[QB1 Collective Deal $1.5M]
  H[National Brands Nike Red Bull EA] --> I[QB1 Brand Stack $300K]
  D --> J[QB1 Total $3.0M]
  G --> J
  I --> J
  J --> K[Agent 5-10% + Tax + LLC Structure]
```

## 6. The Five Programs Setting The 2027 QB Market

### 6.1 Texas — Arch Manning Anchor

- **Total football roster spend 2027:** ~$45M (reported by **Sportico** Q1 2027)
- **Manning total package:** $6.8M (collective + brand stack dominant; rev-share line a smaller fraction)
- **Texas One Fund** + **AT&T, EA Sports, Red Bull, Uber, Vuori, Panini** brand stack

### 6.2 Michigan — Bryce Underwood Bet

- **Underwood deal:** $10-12.5M over four years, **largest HS recruit deal ever**
- **Champions Circle** collective + **Hollister** apparel deal
- **Roster spend 2027:** ~$40M

### 6.3 Miami — Carson Beck Acquisition

- **Beck transfer package + brands:** ~$10M trailing 12 months
- **Canes Connection** collective + **Powerade, Leaf Trading Cards, Raising Cane's** national deals
- **Roster spend 2027:** ~$35M

### 6.4 Ohio State — Julian Sayin + Smith Stack

- **Sayin (QB1) package:** **$3.5M-$4M** band
- **THE Foundation** collective is the **largest in college football** by donor count
- **Roster spend 2027:** **$45M-$50M** (one of three reported $50M payrolls)

### 6.5 Texas A&M — The $50M Year

- **Total roster:** reported **$51M for 2026** by **The Athletic**
- **QB1 line:** $3M+
- **12th Man+ Fund** collective backs it

## 7. What This Means For Recruits And Transfers In 2027

### 7.1 The QB Recruiting Premium

A **top-100 HS QB prospect** in the **2027 class** can now expect a **first-year package of $1.5M-$3M** at a Power-4 program — the **Underwood floor** reset the entire HS market. **2028 five-star QB commits** are already negotiating **$2M-$4M first-year deals** with multi-year guarantees.

### 7.2 The Transfer Portal Spiral

- **Average top-25-program QB1 transfer-in package** in winter 2026 portal: **$2.8M**.
- **Top-10 portal QB landings:** **$3.5M-$5M** routinely.
- **Bidding wars** drive 30% premium over the equivalent retention number.

### 7.3 Mermaid: The 2027 QB Earning Ladder

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  A[HS Top-100 QB Recruit] -->|$1.5M-$3M Yr1| B[Power-4 QB1 First Start]
  B -->|Proves It| C[Top-25 Returning Starter $2.5M-$5M]
  C -->|Transfers Up| D[Blueblood QB1 $5M-$10M]
  D -->|NFL Draft| E[Rookie Contract Reset]
  B -->|Bench/Backup| F[Portal Down-Transfer $400K-$1M]
  F --> B
```

## FAQ

### Q1: What does the typical top-25 starting QB actually take home after taxes and agent fees?

A **$3.0M gross package** nets roughly **$1.6M-$1.8M** after federal tax (37% top bracket), state tax (varies $0 in Texas/Florida/Tennessee to $400K+ in California), agent fee (5-10%), and LLC accounting costs (~$15K/year). Most top-25 QBs work with agencies like **CAA Sports**, **Klutch Sports**, **Wasserman**, or **WME** under college-specific NIL contracts.

### Q2: How does the $20.5M House cap affect QB pay if the cap is sport-agnostic?

The cap is the **school's spending ceiling across all sports**, but **third-party NIL is uncapped**. So a school routes **maybe $1.0M-$1.5M of capped money to the QB1**, then **uncapped collective and brand money stacks on top** to reach the **$3M-$5M true package**. The cap is a **floor-builder**, not a ceiling.

### Q3: Are revenue-share contracts guaranteed if the QB gets injured?

At most SEC/Big Ten programs, **yes — fully guaranteed for the contract year**, mirroring NFL veteran contracts. Multi-year deals typically have **injury-guarantee clauses for the current year plus 50% of the following year**. The **collective check** is **deliverables-based** so an injured QB who can still appear at events and shoot content earns nearly the full amount.

### Q4: How do collectives stay compliant with the NIL Go clearinghouse?

Every deal over **$600** must submit through **NIL Go** (Deloitte-run) for a **range-of-compensation review** against comparable market deals. Collectives now structure agreements with **explicit deliverables** (appearances, content, licensing) priced at **fair-market-value comps from Opendorse and INFLCR databases**. Approval rate in Q1 2027 is **97%+**.

### Q5: Will QB packages keep climbing through the rest of the 2020s?

Yes. The **House settlement cap escalates ~4% annually**, **media-rights deals** (Big Ten $7B, SEC $3B) keep growing, and **collective fundraising** continues hitting records. Industry analysts at **Front Office Sports** project the **median top-25 QB1 package reaches $4M-$5M by 2028** and **$6M by 2030**, with **superstar QBs crossing $10M-$15M annually** on combined stacks.

## Bottom Line

A **typical starting quarterback at a top-25 college football program in 2027 earns $2M-$4.5M per year**, structured as a **revenue-share check from the school ($800K-$1.8M, capped under the House settlement) plus a collective payment ($1.5M-$3.5M, uncapped) plus a brand-deal stack ($150K-$1.2M)**. The **superstar tier** — **Manning, Underwood, Beck, Sayin, Moore** — clears **$5M-$10M+**, with **Manning at $6.8M** and **Underwood's $10-12.5M four-year deal** setting the ceiling. The **QB position premium is structural**: quarterbacks occupy **two-thirds of the top-25 NIL valuations** because **single-point-of-failure roster math** makes the QB1 the **highest-leverage spend** on any roster. **Operators building NIL strategy** should budget the **QB1 at 8-12% of total football roster spend**, **lock multi-year guaranteed deals with portal-buyout protection**, and **layer performance triggers** for **CFP and Heisman outcomes** to align incentives with team success.

## Sources

- **On3 NIL Valuations Database** — primary source for athlete-by-athlete valuation numbers, accessed Q2 2027 ([on3.com/nil/rankings](https://www.on3.com/nil/rankings/player/nil-valuations/))
- **Sports Illustrated / SI.com FanNation** — reporting on Arch Manning $6.8M valuation, transfer portal QB market, Underwood retention
- **CBS Sports** — House v. NCAA settlement explainer and Dante Moore decision reporting
- **The Athletic** — Texas A&M $51M roster reporting and program-level NIL spend analysis
- **Sportico** — annual college-athletics revenue and roster-spend databases
- **Front Office Sports** — 2027-2030 projection commentary and collective fundraising tracking
- **Opendorse** — fair-market-value benchmarks for deliverables-based NIL agreements
- **INFLCR** — workflow and compliance data on athlete deal flow
- **247Sports** — transfer portal 2026 QB market reporting and recruiting class valuations
- **Athlon Sports / Heavy.com** — Bryce Underwood $10-12.5M deal reporting and Carson Beck Miami transfer package
- **ESPN** — House settlement timeline reporting and conference-by-conference rev-share opt-in tracking

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