What Could Be the NIL Impact of Arch Manning Making His First Start This Weekend?

Arch Manning will make his first career start on Saturday. What could the potential NIL impact be?

Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns sophomore quarterback Arch Manning is going to make his first career start on Saturday evening against Louisiana-Monroe.

With starter Quinn Ewers ruled out due to an oblique injury, the moment for Manning comes perhaps before head coach Steve Sarkisian would have preferred it to, but it's here nonetheless. The nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning got his first taste at real game action last week against UTSA after Ewers left the game, and he did not disappoint.

Manning completed 9 of his 12 attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns along with a highlight 67-yard rushing touchdown on an option play where he showed off the elite speed that eluded his two NFL uncles.

He already has an NIL valuation of over $3 million according to On3, a number that could potentially see a serious increase with another strong performance this week. In terms of engagement, Manning saw a staggering 28 percent rate across social media during his performance against UTSA, according to Out2Win. This means that not only were users seeing Arch Manning content, they were interacting with it at a massive clip. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that he gained over 15,000 new followers across his various accounts.

Manning entered college already with a massive valuation due to both his last name as well as his undeniable status as a recruit. The Louisiana native was not only the No. 1 quarterback in the class, he was the No. 1 overall player in the entire country. But while he sat on the bench during his freshman season and was slated to do the same in 2024, there was likely ultimately a cap on what he could do from an NIL perspective.

It's a cap that disappears the second he steps onto the field and performs at a high level consistently, which if last Saturday's performance was any indication, he is poised to do this week and possibly even the following week depending on the status of Ewers. Facing lowly Mississippi State next week before a bye ahead of the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma, it seems more likely than not that for at least the next two weeks, this is Manning's team.

What Manning does with the full reigns on Saturday night is entirely up to him. Nevertheless, his takeover of not only the starting job at Texas, but the spotlight of the college football world and ultimately the Name, Image, and Likeness sphere is a matter of when and not if for Manning.

It's Arch Manning's world, the rest of college football is just living in it.