The Extra Point: With NIL, Manning Could be College Football's Golden Arch

Regardless of where he plays college football, name recognition will result in a big payday for quarterback prospect Arch Manning.

Our colleagues at Longhorns Country brought up an interesting point on Monday, speculating about the potential worth of a top-level quarterback prospect who also has outstanding name recognition.

They were talking about Arch Manning, of course, the nephew of the famous Manning quarterbacks, who is a premier 2023 prospect from Isidore Newman (La.). 

According to Action Network sports business analyst Darren Rovell, it wouldn't be farfetched to see Manning become a multi-millionaire after high school graduation. 

“Arch Manning I could see making $10 Million as a freshman in college,” Rovell said on the Dan Patrick show. “Everyone who had Peyton and Eli are gonna wanna sign him. … When you say, ‘Who’s the guy who’s gonna come in and blow this thing up?’ That’s the guy who I think of. But he’s got two years to go.”

The folks at Longhorns Country, of course, believe that playing at Texas might result in the bigger NIL rewards, plus he would have the opportunity to play for Steve Sarkisian. In 2020, Alabama's offense may have been the best college football has ever seen as Crimson Tide players won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, Fred Biletnikoff Award, Paul Hornung Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Doak Walker Award, Joe Moore Award, Outland Trophy and the Rimington Award. 

(What did Sarkisian get? The Broyles Award, a national championship ring and a big, huge payday from Texas).  

Manning did visit Texas this summer, but also Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and SMU. He's already familiar with LSU and Ole Miss. 

The family is keeping his recruiting process close to the visit, but they were in Tuscaloosa over Father's Day weekend. They met with not only Nick Saban, but the former NFL coaches on his staff, one whom used to coach Tom Brady (line coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien). 

Could the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Manning do better in terms of NIL at Texas? It's hard to say. 

But Alabama does have one clear advantage over the Longhorns: As long as Saban is in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide will always be a strong national title contender, and the coach will do everything in his power to keep it that way.

The Extra Point is a regular weekday feature on BamaCentral, and often includes video and other elements from our FanNation partners. Other recent segments include:

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