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Arch Manning has officially joined the NIL world and he’s already making a huge impact. The Texas quarterback had a custom-made trading card auctioned off over the weekend with the final bid reaching six figures.
While the $100K price tag is staggering, Manning won’t see a dime of that money. Instead, all proceeds from the auction will be donated to charity.
The passer announced his decision to team up with Panini America last week, marking his first NIL deal as a college player. That decision sparked immediate outrage from college football fans as they’d previously been told he wouldn’t sign an NIL agreement until he became the starting signal caller in Austin.
While the decision seemed hypocritical to some, there was a twist in this first partnership. Manning won’t actually earn any money from the proceeds as they’ll benefit charity instead.
The deal struck between Arch and Panini America stated that the company would create a “One-of-One Throwback Prism Black Autographed Trading Card.”
That card would be sold at auction with 100% of the proceeds benefitting children and their families in Central Texas with support from St. David’s HealthCare and St. David’s Foundation in Austin.
On Saturday night, the auction officially closed. After 36 bids, the winning number came in at $102,500.
Along with the massive donation, the winning bidder will also receive a meet-and-greet experience with Arch that will include attending the check presentation to the beneficiary of the funds raised through the auction.
Manning’s first partnership was an undoubted success, and it feels like just the first domino to fall in his NIL pursuits. Should he continue to have this type of positive impact, it will be hard to root against the Longhorns’ passer.
On the field, Arch is hoping to grow in his freshman season as gets his introduction to Big XII (and soon, SEC) football. He currently sits third on the depth chart behind incumbent starter Quinn Ewers and backup Maliik Murphy.