Major ACC Program Receives Seven-Figure Donation from Former Star QB

The arms race in college football has been well under way in recent years as programs battle each other for talent by raising serious NIL money to attract players.

Now one of the most recognizable faces in modern ACC football history is getting in on the action by putting down some serious money to his alma mater.

Florida State hasn’t won a national championship since Jameis Winston was on the field, and now the quarterback who helped bring the school that last title is handing more than $1 million to the program.

What he said

Winston said he gave Florida State “more than a million,” and none of it will be under his control as he said he’ll let the school determine how to spend it.

“I definitely donated to my alma mater,” Winston said to Front Office Sports. “However they distribute that money is up to them. But the NIL phase is huge, right?”

He added: “Because you’re seeing college players making a large sum of money, but you’re also seeing them get connected with lawyers, with financial advisors, with a different type of person that they wouldn’t have access to until they were drafted into the NFL.”

A Seminole great

Winston finished his career as a Florida State legend at the quarterback position.

Spending three seasons at the school, he was the starter for two of those years, finishing with a 26-1 overall record, a BCS national title, and winning the Heisman Trophy.

The eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the signal caller has been in the league for the last decade, earning an estimated $80 million, according to Spotrac.

FSU’s recent troubles

Just two seasons ago, the Seminoles appeared to be on the cusp of a national championship.

They were undefeated in the regular season and won the ACC championship, seemingly on course to earn a place in what became the last four-team College Football Playoff.

Then the committee intervened, shocking the world by selecting one-loss SEC champion Alabama instead, and ever since then, things have gone downhill for the Noles.

Mike Norvell’s fifth season resulted in a disastrous 2-10 season in which the offense failed to score 20 points in 10 games.

Things looked better to start 2025, beating No. 8 Alabama in the opener and starting 3-0, but Florida State went on to lose seven of its final nine games to finish 5-7.

Now, with some more money in the bank, the Seminoles could be on firmer footing to get back into contention, thanks to a gift from one of their greatest recent alumni.

(FOS)

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