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College football has been skidding down a slippery slope since the start of the NIL Era, and the line between that level and the pros gets blurrier with every year that passes. Now, we’ve been treated to our latest shift on that front courtesy of Arch Manning’s decision to take a pay cut ahead of his second season as the starter for Texas.
Next summer will mark the fifth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision that essentially forced the NCAA to abandon its longstanding efforts to prevent students from cashing in on their name, image, and likeness.
It was a fairly inevitable development and one that was poised to have a dramatic impact on the landscape of college sports. While most fans agreed that student-athletes deserved to make some money, the ways in which they’re now able to do so have slowly but surely eroded the spirit of collegiate athletics as the concept of amateurism becomes a memory of the past.
That evolution has been marked by a number of tangible signposts, and the latest stake has been pounded into the ground courtesy of Arch Manning.
Arch Manning is taking a pay cut to allow Texas to use more of its House settlement funds on other talent
Earlier this week, we were treated to the latest piece of evidence that college football is basically a pro sport when USC went out of its way to announce running back Waymond Jordan had re-signed with the program after deciding to return to the Trojans for a second season.
We’ve reached a point where every player is effectively a free agent when their season comes to an end due to the transfer portal, and schools now have even more money they can use to try to poach and retain talent in the wake of the House settlement that will allow athletic departments to redistribute up to $20.5 million in revenue to athletes during the current academic year.
According to Texas Insider, the University of Texas is setting aside around $14 million for its football program next season. Arch Manning will undoubtedly receive a significant chunk of that sum, but the outlet spoke with sources who say the quarterback will accept “a reduced compensation” from the Longhorns so they can spend more money on other players in pursuit of a national championship.
Manning certainly isn’t hurting for cash, as he reportedly received at least $3.5 million this season thanks to NIL deals with companies including Red Bull, Uber, and Warby Parker.
It’s a commendable move for a QB who will be looking to improve after largely failing to meet the admittedly lofty expectations surrounding him during a campaign where the Longhorns went 9-3, but it’s also one that shows the sport has firmly reached the point of no return.