$6.5 million QB issues strong statement on three major college football programs

Alabama finished the 2025 season 11–4 and reached the College Football Playoff, but was thoroughly beaten by No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, a 38–3 loss that ended the Tide’s season.

In his first year as Alabama’s full-time starter, redshirt junior Ty Simpson started 15 games and completed 305 of 473 attempts (64.5%) for 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions, finishing the year with a 145.2 passer efficiency rating.

However, shortly after the loss, Simpson officially declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, filing the necessary paperwork on January 7, less than a week after Alabama’s College Football Playoff exit.

Simpson later told outlets he consulted former Alabama coach Nick Saban following the Rose Bowl loss, with Saban advising him to consider what he would do if money were not a factor.

On Wednesday, multiple outlets reported that Simpson received significant NIL offers during the transfer year from other Power-5 programs.

According to On3, initial offers in the $4 million range came from Tennessee, Miami, and Ole Miss, with Miami later increasing its package to $6.5 million after missing on other portal targets; Ole Miss reportedly indicated it was willing to match the figure.

Simpson said publicly that accepting such an offer did not sit right with him, explaining that his ties to Alabama and his role as a team leader ultimately guided his decision to enter the NFL Draft rather than transfer for another college season.

"Everybody would just remember me as the guy who took all this money and went to Miami or Tennessee for his last year," Simpson said. "But I was a captain. I put my hand and footprints in the cement at Denny Chimes. I would have lost everything that I built at Alabama.”

“Everybody would just remember me as the guy who took all this money and went to Miami or Tennessee for his last year. But I was a captain. I put my hand and footprints in the cement at Denny Chimes. I would have lost everything that I built at Alabama.” — Ty Simpson https://t.co/20KL40NMXQ
— Chris Low (@Clowfb) January 14, 2026

On3’s NIL-valuation tracker has placed several college athletes in the multi-million-dollar range, including Texas quarterback Arch Manning ($5.3 million), BYU basketball standout AJ Dybantsa ($4.4 million), and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith ($4.2 million).

Therefore, Simpson’s reported $6.5 million transfer offer would have ranked among the largest single-year NIL transfer packages reported across college sports.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson. — Pasadena, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers in the first half of the 2026 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Early draft boards have Simpson listed among the top quarterback prospects, often behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

However, Moore recently announced his decision to return to Oregon for the 2026 season, a move that could improve Simpson’s draft positioning.

If selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Simpson would be in line for a rookie contract valued between approximately $4.2 million, the amount earned by Jaxson Dart as the No. 25 overall pick in 2025, and $12.2 million, the value of Cam Ward’s deal after being selected first overall in 2025, according to Over The Cap.

Simpson’s decision to declare for the NFL Draft rather than pursue reported seven-figure transfer offers highlights the increasing calculus facing elite prospects as they weigh immediate NIL opportunities against long-term professional earning potential.

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