Richest College Football Player Named Best Quarterback Entering 2026 Season

The most famous quarterback name in college football will also be the best quarterback on the field when the 2026 season kicks off, according to a new expert projection.

Arch Manning may not have lived up to the enormous expectation on his shoulders in his first season as the starter at Texas, he will end up being the most talented quarterback in the country, according to On3 Sports’ Ari Wasserman.

College football's best quarterback?

Manning topped the list of the best quarterbacks in college football heading into 2026, in part because of what could be a better cast of contributors around him.

“He played behind a shaky offensive line, got booed on his home field, and was constantly referred to as a bust,” Wasserman noted.

“What happened? He got better as the season went on and had Texas on the brink of a College Football Playoff berth.”

The former consensus five-star and No. 1 ranked overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, Manning finally took the reins as the full-time starter in 2025.

Manning had his ups and downs

It’s no secret that Manning struggled out of the gate in 2025.

Coming into his first year as the Longhorns’ starter, Manning had a rough outing in the season opening loss at Ohio State and put him pedestrian numbers, resulting in analysts radically reassessing that intense preseason hype.

But as the season went on, Manning led Texas to statement victories against ranked opponents Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, and led a stunning upset of undefeated rival Texas A&M in the season finale before taking out Michigan in the bowl game.

Arch is college football’s NIL king

In addition to having one of the most recognizable names in football, Manning is also considered the most valuable player in the country.

That’s according to a list compiled by Fox Sports, when it revealed its list of the 25 college athletes with the highest NIL valuations in the 2025 season.

Manning ranked atop that list, earning an estimated NIL valuation of $6.8 million.

“Manning has reportedly inked deals or partnered with EA Sports, Red Bull, Uber, and Vuori,” the Fox analysis read.

“While Manning is the highest-valued NIL athlete in college sports, he doesn’t take any money from Texas’ NIL collective, the Houston Chronicle previously reported.”

Texas may not spend on Manning, but it has on other notable incoming players like running back Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown in addition to No. 1 ranked transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman.

Herbie agrees on Arch

Veteran college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit has concurred with the more promising opinion on the player, saying that Manning will be the top quarterback in next year’s NFL Draft class.

“I think he’s been through a tough stretch where the expectations were almost unfair, and a lot of it was his own doing,” Herbstreit said to On3 Sports.

“He felt the tension, [and I] think it affected him. But when you’re going into a season saying ‘He’s better than both of his uncles, he’s better than his grandpa,’ it’s like, every throw had to be like, ‘Whoa, did you see that?’”

Herbstreit added: “I think he lived it, he experienced it, he survived it. I’ll be shocked, when the dust settles, if he’s not the guy in the class.”

(On3)

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