Report: College Teams Making Offers to Ty Simpson to Forgo NFL Draft, Transfer

Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft this past Wednesday.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) hands off the ball to Alabama Crimson Tide running back Kevin Riley (28) on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, during the 112th annual Rose Bowl game in Pasadena. Indiana Hoosiers defeated Alabama Crimson Tide, 38-3. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Wednesday, seemingly putting an end to his collegiate career after just one season as the Crimson Tide's starting signal caller, but a new report indicates that multiple teams are trying to entice Simpson to remain in college and put his name in the transfer portal.

According to Nick Kelly of AL.com, one unidentified program is so intent on landing Simpson's services for next season that it has offered him a deal with a total valuation of $6.5 million. The transfer portal does not close until Jan. 16, and the deadline to declare for the NFL Draft is this coming Wednesday.

Simpson's story is an uncommon one in the modern iteration of college football. The Tennessee native joined Alabama's program as part of former head coach Nick Saban's 2022 recruiting class and then stuck around after losing an offseason quarterback battle to Jalen Milroe in 2023, also staying put in 2024 when Saban retired.

He was a redshirt junior when he was finally named the starting quarterback ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, his fourth with the team and current head coach Kalen DeBoer's second. After beating out Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, he went on to start all 15 of the Crimson Tide's games, throwing for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns. Alabama took revenge on Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma for 2024 losses, advancing to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff before falling in the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Indiana.

"Coach [Saban] told me straight up it wasn't going to be easy, but he told me if I trusted the process, it would be a ride worth taking," Simpson said in his draft declaration announcement last week. "I'd do it a thousand times over. There's no brotherhood like Alabama football... and there's no journey like the one I'm on now."

Alabama eventually finished the second season of the post-Saban era at 11-4 with an appearance in the SEC Championship Game and a College Football Playoff win, as well as a road victory in the Iron Bowl.

Mack and Russell are both set to return to the Crimson Tide for 2026, paving the way for another quarterback competition in Tuscaloosa. Mack, who came from Washington with DeBoer, received his most meaningful collegiate action to date against the Hoosiers when Simpson exited the game early in the second half due to a cracked rib sustained in the second quarter.