Auburn Quarterback NIL Deal Revealed To Be Near Top Of The Country

Former University of South Florida signal caller earned a huge payday after following his head coach to Auburn in the transfer portal.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown got his payday | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Since the legalization of NIL in 2021, it has completely taken over the landscape of college football. The transfer portal has begun to look like the professional league’s free agency period, especially when it comes to schools picking their quarterbacks for the upcoming season. 

The Auburn Tigers joined the top programs around the nation when it came to paying the big bucks for one of the best quarterbacks in college football to commit in the transfer portal.

According to Pete Nakos of On3, head coach Alex Golesh and the Tigers paid “roughly $3 million” to bring the coach’s former USF quarterback, Byrum Brown, with him to the Plains. The paycheck for Brown places him among the highest-paid passers in the sport.

In the same report, 13 quarterbacks were stated to be making over $3 million. Miami’s Darian Mensah tops the list at at least $6 million, with Oregon and Ole Miss paying Dante Moore and Trinidad Chambliss $5 million. Lane Kiffin paid his signal caller Sam Leavitt $4.5 million to leave Arizona State.

Golesh proved his faith and trust in Brown by paying him seven figures to follow him to Auburn. When Brown entered the transfer portal in January, he entered with a “Do Not Contact” tag, signaling his plan was to follow his coach all along.

While the contract seems like a hefty price for a former American Athletic Conference  (AAC) quarterback, his stats last season prove that he could be worth every last penny. In his last season in Tampa, Brown became the sixth player at his position to throw for 3,000 and rush for 1,000 yards in the College Football Playoff era when he compiled 4,166 total yards and 42 total touchdowns. Statistically, Brown played like one of the best players in the country last year.

If he repeats that performance, the sky is the limit for the Auburn Tigers in 2026. With the amount of money he is being paid known to the public, Brown will have to prove to Tiger fans and donors of the program that he is worth the money to poach him from USF.

The Tigers quarterback is already expected by many across the country to be just as dominant in the SEC as he was in his time in the AAC. After being placed on numerous sports media lists deeming him one of the best players in the sport, Brown also found his name on a handful of preseason watchlists recognizing elite quarterbacks. Both the Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm acknowledged Brown for what he may do this upcoming season.

His first test on if he is worth the payday comes in a week when the Tigers kick off their season in Atlanta against the Baylor Bears on Sept. 5.

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