Name Image Likeness

New Orleans Saints and Texas Longhorns Top NIL Earner Meeting Ahead of NFL Draft

The New Orleans Saints are one of three NFL teams scheduled to meet with top NIL earner and draft prospect Quinn Ewers ahead of his pro day.

Maddy Hudak

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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After turning down what would have been one of the most lucrative NIL deals in college football history to enter the 2025 NFL draft, Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers is seeing that decision pay off.

Ewers elected to end his career as a Longhorn rather than transfer for a reported $8 million name, image, and likeness deal and is scheduled to meet with three quarterback-needy teams ahead of his Pro Day on Thursday, including the New Orleans Saints. 

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that the Saints have done their homework and are one of the teams preparing for the coveted prospect.

Breer spoke with Ewers at the NFL Combine about his oblique injury and high ankle sprain that affected his final season and laid out Ewers’ plan for his first throwing opportunity in full health since early September.

“He plans to go through a 60-throw script that he worked on with ex-NFL OC Rich Scangarello, throwing to Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, Gunner Helm, Jaydon Blue, and Silas Bolden. Just as newsworthy is what’s happening around Ewers’s pro day. The plan is for him to meet with the Jets and Las Vegas Raiders today and have dinner with the New Orleans Saints brass tonight, with all three teams expected to send big crews to Austin,” Breer wrote.

It's a gamble to forego an NIL deal that would stand to surpass the career $6 million the Ewers made in three seasons in Austin. However, his decision has rightfully garnered the eyes of teams that need a signal caller.

Per On3 Sports, Ewers had notable deals last season that included New Era, private jet company Nicholas Air, starring in a Hulu NIL commercial, and launching a line of jerky with Victory Snacks.

While his injuries may have affected his draft stock, a strong Pro Day showing could provide the necessary momentum for Ewers’ bet on himself to pay off.

It all depends on where he lands in the NFL draft. If his name is called on Thursday night, he could earn between the No. 1 overall pick’s $42 million over four years and $13 million for the No. 32 pick.

Second-round picks are projected to earn between $6.8 million and $10.8 million over four years, though he won’t have the crucial fifth-year option awarded to first-round picks. Should Ewers fall to the third round, he would stand to earn between $4.3 and $4.6 million over four years.

Frankly, Ewers would have made more in one season with a program if that reported $8 million offer stands true than he would as the No. 1 overall pick, as Spotrac reports a Year 1 value of $7.8 million. 

However, that money would only last for one year if he suffered a season-ending or career-ending injury. Ewers could've transferred, seen his draft stock suffer to the point of falling off the map, and lost out on early draft pick earnings.

A team that utilizes a first- or second-round pick on a quarterback has a four-year investment they must cultivate. Ewers would have been a one-year rental for a program looking at the College Football Playoff.

The long-term vision is important for college football players, and Ewers is looking at a strong future in the 2025 NFL draft.

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Maddy Hudak
MADDY HUDAK

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