Longhorns Spent 'Zero' NIL Dollars to Land QB Arch Manning

If you thought you knew why Arch Manning picked the Texas Longhorns, you were probably wrong.

HOUSTON - When Arch Manning committed to the Texas Longhorns, it was widely assumed that it would, at least in part, be the result of him landing one of the biggest NIL deals in the modern college football era. 

Except, those assumptions were dead wrong. In fact, according to head coach Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning's NIL cost was less than a penny.

“Zero,” Sarkisian said at Touchdown Club of Houston on Wednesday. "So, Arch Manning - everybody is under the assumption that this was an NIL deal for him to come to the University of Texas. It was absolutely not.”

This of course comes as a major surprise for the masses, considering the current state of college football. Not to mention that Manning's On3 NIL valuation was the third highest of any college athlete in America at $3.2 million.

However, Sarkisian stood by his statement and explained exactly why Manning pick the Horns - because it is exactly where he wanted to go to play.

“I wish I had my phone,” Sarkisian said. “I would read you the text I got from (Arch’s father) Cooper Manning after Arch called me out of the blue at about nine o'clock in the morning to say he was coming to the University of Texas. It had come down to us, Alabama and Georgia.

“In the end, his dad texted me and said, ‘If there's a message to tell any of the other recruits you’re recruiting, it’s that Arch Manning is coming to Texas because he loves the University of Texas. He loves the coaches, and he loves the program. This is not about NIL.’ He’s taken zero money from NIL.”

So does that mean Arch will be taking no money from NIL while he is in Austin? Absolutely not. Rather, it was a family decision to wait until after Manning was the team's starting quarterback, to pursue any NIL opportunities. 

“Here’s the guy that has an NIL value of whatever it is, and this guy’s grandpa (Archie Manning) won’t let him take NIL money,” Sarkisian said. “(Archie Manning) said, ‘You can take NIL money when you become a player, when you start.’"

Now that Manning is a member of the team, and likely on the track of being the third-string quarterback - and also likely redshirting his freshman season as a result - it could be a while before he is able to seek that opportunity. 

And until Manning does take the field as the starter, his sole focus can be on learning Sarkisian's offense and earning the starting job at the University of Texas. Which, of course, is a system that has landed a good deal of successful quarterbacks in the NFL.

Not a bad 'deal' for either party, right?

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You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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