Air Noland is on his third different college football program in three years. The former four- or five-star recruit will compete for the starting job at Memphis during fall camp and will likely get paid a significant amount of NIL money to do so.
However, he is not aware of exactly how much he is making and/or refuses to discuss finances.
Noland managed to avoid any discussion of his college football compensation. He tried his best not to make a big deal of it.
Who is Air Noland?
The story of Air Noland begins in Georgia. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore at Langston Hughes High School and led the Panthers to a 5A state runner-up finish at 13-2. His junior year was even better.
Noland helped to set the Georgia state record for most points scored by a team in a single season with 792. Langston Hughes went undefeated at 15-0 and won its first state championship in program history. Its quarterback was named as the Georgia Region 5 6-A Player of the Year and received MaxPreps All-American honors.
Although Noland took a slight step back under a new offensive coordinator as a senior, he still completed 66.5% of his passes for 2,140 yards with 22 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. The 6-foot-2 signal-caller was primarily rated as a four-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2024 and the fourth-ranked player at his position behind Julian Sayin, Dylan Raiola and DJ Lagway.
Noland ultimately committed to Ohio State and spent his entire freshman season on the bench as the fifth-string quarterback behind Sayin, Will Howard, Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz. And then it was off to the transfer portal.
The redshirt freshman spent the 2025 season behind LaNorris Sellers, Luke Doty and Cutter Woods at South Carolina. Noland made only two appearances. And then it was off to the transfer portal, again.
Noland committed to Memphis in January as a rising redshirt sophomore. He will compete with former four-star (and somewhat controversial) recruit Marcus Stokes in fall camp. It is unclear as to who is in the lead after spring ball. The competition is wide open.
How much NIL money is he making to play college football at Memphis?
The exact financial numbers are not made public. Air Noland’s salary, like most college football players, is not public.
With that being said, he got paid pretty well as a former four- or five-star recruit at Ohio State and South Carolina. I think it would be safe to say that $200,000 was the absolute bare minimum at both schools. That doesn’t include any outside endorsement deals.
Memphis may not have the most money at its disposal but the Tigers are well-funded. Certainly compared to other G6 programs. Local logistics giant FedEx pledged $25 million over five years ($5 million annually) to directly fund NIL opportunities for student-athletes at Memphis in April 2024.
The Tigers can pay a top-ranked quarterback a competitive amount but he is not willing to say how much. Noland was asked about his compensatory package on an episode of the Raw Room Podcast with Daren Bates and Jalen Collins. His lips are sealed.
In fact, he wouldn’t even admit that he was wearing team-issued gear. Bates and Collins both called him out for lying about his alleged purchase from the bookstore. Yeah right!
Neither NFL veteran could get Air Noland to speak about his NIL compensation. His media training is immaculate. Ohio State and South Carolina taught him well. However, Bates and Collins were quick to point out the cost of his shoes. They weren’t cheap!