$5.4 Million QB Dealt Reality Check After Disappointing College Football Season

The 2025 college football season featured several historic programs that underwhelmed. Powerhouse brands like Clemson, Penn State, LSU, and Texas all opened the year ranked inside the AP Top 10, and none reached the College Football Playoff.

Clemson was criticized for a system-wide collapse. Penn State endured a late-season freefall. LSU struggled with offensive inconsistency. Texas, meanwhile, never found a sustained rhythm offensively despite massive preseason expectations.

The Longhorns, in particular, became one of the sport’s defining storylines largely because of who was under center: Arch Manning, one of the most valuable NIL athletes in college football with a reported valuation around $5.4 million.

With that kind of financial backing and brand weight, the spotlight only intensified.

That spotlight grew even brighter when Paul Finebaum weighed in. After being an early booster entering 2025, Finebaum recently acknowledged he’s pumping the brakes, praising Manning’s improvement but stopping short of previous superlatives, while still projecting Texas to reach the 2026 College Football Playoff semifinals.

“Listen, I’m not going back to where I was a year ago with declaring him the best player of all time, but he is a much better player,” Finebaum said on Get Up. “He won the Heisman in November. Unfortunately, he did poorly in September and October … I think they will be in the semifinals of the CFP. I don’t think Texas will win.”

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. — Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks to make a pass in the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Texas finished 10–3, capping the year with a 41–27 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl win over Michigan, but the late surge couldn’t fully erase months of uneven play.

Despite winning seven of their final eight games, losses to Ohio State (14–7), Florida (29–21), and Georgia (35–10) ultimately kept the Longhorns out of the CFP picture. Narrow overtime escapes against Kentucky and Mississippi State, both sub-.500 teams in 2025, did little to quiet concerns about consistency.

Manning emerged as the clear centerpiece of the offense, throwing for 3,163 yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 399 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.

He completed 61.4% of his passes and posted a 144.9 passer rating, yet early-season struggles and uneven efficiency in September and October fueled ongoing skepticism about whether Texas was maximizing its generational talent.

Manning arrived in Austin as a five-star prospect and the top-ranked quarterback in the 2023 class, carrying not only elite recruiting grades but one of the sport’s most recognizable bloodlines as the nephew of NFL legends Eli Manning and Peyton Manning.

Now entering 2026, Manning faces heightened expectations — legitimate Heisman buzz, NFL draft projections as a potential top pick, and significant NIL visibility — but also intensified scrutiny.

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