Diego Pavia did not have an agent during his college football career at Vanderbilt. The 24-year-old quarterback was not going to allow an outside party to take any of his NIL money.
It appears as though he is taking the same approach for the NFL Draft!
Pavia’s reluctance to hire representation is a direct reflection on the broken system of college football. Agents prey on their clients because they are not regulated in how they must operate.
Diego Pavia represented himself for NIL negotiations at Vanderbilt.
The former New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico State quarterback arrived to Nashville in 2024. He was actually committed to play at Nevada before Jerry Kill accepted a role at Vanderbilt and brought his former Aggies quarterback with him.
The rest is history, literally.
Diego Pavia broke all kinds of school records en route to a 7-6 record in year one with a monumental upset win over Alabama. He ultimately decided to run it back and, after an initial legal battle to gain another year of eligibility, finished as the runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting and led the Commodores to their first-ever 10-win season.
Pavia reportedly turned down offers of $4-5 million to stay at Vanderbilt in 2025. His decision was rooted in the desire to finish what he started with coach Lea and coach Kill, and to leave the program on West End better than he found it.
But that doesn’t mean he didn’t get paid!
Pavia peeled back the curtain on the negotiation process on the most recent episode of Gruden’s QB Camp. He revealed that he represented himself along the way.
Did you know Diego Pavia is his own agent? pic.twitter.com/rZbcDn3s2M
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) April 7, 2026
The polarizing quarterback did not want an agent to take any of his money, let alone 5-10%.
NFL Draft agents are capped at a specific percentage.
A lot of media outlets and aggregator accounts on social media ran with the idea that Diego Pavia will also represent himself during the NFL Draft process. However, I do not know that to be true based on what he told Jon Gruden. We can only assume.
At no point did Pavia say “I am not hiring an agent for the NFL Draft.” His anecdote applied to his NIL money negotiations with Vanderbilt between 2024 and 2025. He did not address his NFL Draft plans.
Either way, his comments speak directly to the broken system of college football.
“I didn’t think it was fair that someone was going to represent me and take 5-10%.”
That isn’t allowed in the NFL. There are rules and regulations in place that specifically cap agents at 3%. Top players can often negotiate an even smaller number from there. It is not a 5-10% ding.
Meanwhile, college football “agents” can take whatever they want. There is nothing in place to limit their earnings. And most of them are not even certified agents. It could be a friend of a friend or an uncle or even a parent. The “agents” don’t have to have any previous experience or qualifications.
If Pavia is choosing not to hire an agent for the NFL Draft process because he does not know they are capped at 3%, I would imagine he is not the only one. College football players are scarred by the broken system, which leaves them more willing to take a gamble in negotiations on the next level.