$2.1 million QB makes career decision amid 7-figure offers from Power Four teams

One of the biggest name quarterbacks in college football has made his final decision regarding the next step of his career despite some big offers being on the table.

Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the biggest name quarterbacks in college football has made a career decision after being given some massive offers, and it looks like he’s turning them all down.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is putting his name to the official paperwork that will enter him into the 2026 NFL Draft, according to On3 Sports.

Simpson had declared for the NFL Draft last week after the end of Alabama’s season, but that move clearly didn’t stop other college football programs from putting some serious money on the table to lure him to their schools instead.

Simpson had massive offers

The decision by the Crimson Tide quarterback to turn pro was apparently no obstacle for a number of Power Four schools that were prepared to make a serious investment in him to run their offense next fall.

Simpson fielded multiple seven-figure offers through third parties that included one enormous pitch worth a reported $6.5 million, according to AL.com.

Among those offers were three from other SEC football programs that started at $4 million for Simpson to join them for next season, representing what industry insiders concur has been a very fluid and rising market for quarterbacks at playoff hopeful schools willing to pay top dollar.

Those figures would be a major raise from the $2.1 million NIL valuation that Simpson received from the On3 Sports national player rankings, sitting 20th nationally in that category.

But as tempting as those offers must have been, Simpson instead stuck with his plans to enter the National Football League instead, filing his papers just one day before the official deadline for underclassmen to enter the draft.

What he did on the field

Simpson was originally a member of Alabama’s recruiting class back in 2022 and elected to remain with the program and wait his turn to run the offense as the starter rather than enter the transfer portal.

Alabama liked what they saw when he finally took the reins after Jalen Milroe’s departure to the NFL, as he threw for 3,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions while completing 64.5 percent of his pass attempts this past season.

QB hinted at his future

Simpson strongly indicated that he was going to turn down those huge offers, cement his place as an Alabama man, and head to the NFL on those terms.

“I’m proud to be a part of this legacy, to have chosen to be where my feet are, to have learned you can’t be anybody but yourself and to strive to be the best version of yourself every single day,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.

He added: “There was temptation along the way, temptation to find an easier path. But when you choose Alabama football, there’s a responsibility and a pride that comes with it. It’s something that you feel deep down. It’s not a choice to stay at Alabama. You just are Alabama, or you’re not.”

Ty Simpson was Alabama down the line. Now he’ll represent the Crimson Tide in the NFL.