Arch Manning has declined all NIL deals, QB waiting until he’s named Texas’ starter, Steve Sarkisian says

Name, image and likeness rules has opened the door for collegiate athletes to potentially earn millions of dollars.

But highly touted Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is apparently not interested in generating any revenue from NIL deals — at least for the time being.

According to Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, Manning has opted against signing any NIL deal because he is not the team’s starting quarterback.

The family is opposed to Manning inking a deal until the signal-caller is officially named the starter. Arch is the nephew to legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.

His grandfather, Archie Manning, was the No. 2 overall draft pick in 1971 and was inducted in the New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor.

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Aside from having a last name that is considered to be football royalty, Arch’s father, Cooper, also works in real estate.

“If there’s a message to tell any of the other recruits who you’re recruiting is 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 an NIL perspective,” Sarkisian said, and Cooper, Peyton and Eli texted him after Arch committed to the Longhorns.

Whenever the young Manning does ink a NIL deal, he is likely in for a lucrative pay day. He is the third-ranked student-athlete on the On3 Sports NIL 100 valuation list.

The list provides a projection of the NIL value of the top 100 college athletes across various sports. Manning’s projected NIL valuation currently sits at $3.2 million.

Virtually every top college football program pursued Manning out of high school. The five-star recruit ultimately picked Texas. 

247Sports’ composite rankings listed Manning as the top overall prospect coming out of high school.

Quinn Ewers handled the starting quarterback duties for Texas for the majority of last season and is widely expected to retain his role in 2023.

Ewers arrived in Austin as a transfer from Ohio State in 2022. He started 10 games, throwing for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions last season.

Earlier this month, Sarkisian doubled down on Ewers’ position: “I think it’s pretty clear to say that Quinn’s our starting quarterback, and we feel very good about that,” Sarkisian told reporters.