Mark Gronowski decided to enter the transfer portal and play one final season of college football at Iowa instead of declaring for the NFL Draft. He would be forced to take a pay cut as a professional.
The Hawkeyes offered him an NIL with six zeros attached!
Gronowski, a former unranked recruit with only one scholarship offer, became the best player in program history during four years at South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits won two college football national championships in 2022 and 2023 and their quarterback was named as the best offensive player on the FCS level en route to the second. They went 39-6 during those four seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound signal-caller completed 63.5% of his passes for 10,330 yards and 93 touchdowns with just 20 interceptions over four seasons in Brookings. Mark Gronowski added 1,767 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns.
As is often the case in this modern era of collegiate athletics, a small-school player faced a difficult decision after a standout career. The 23-year-old could either stay at South Dakota State, enter the NFL Draft and hope to hear his name called during the later rounds, or transfer up.
Mark Gronowski got paid to transfer!
He chose the third of three options. Gronowski told NBC5 Chicago that his phone blew up as soon as his entry into the transfer portal went live.
The crazy thing was just all the text messages and phone calls I was getting. I had over 100 missed texts and probably 20 missed calls on just the first day that I was in the portal.
— Mark Gronowski, via NBC5
Iowa felt like the best fit for multiple reasons and ultimately received his commitment.
Just being able to learn an NFL offense there and be surrounded by a bunch of coaches that are going to help me develop into a better player. Obviously I looked at other schools as well, but I think this school has a winning culture, very similar to what we have at SDSU, and it kind of really felt like home after I went on my visit.”
— Mark Gronowski, via NBC5
Of course, money played a role in Gronowski’s decision. The Hawkeyes reportedly guaranteed him a financial sum that is north of $1,000,000.
It’s huge for my life, my family’s life, starting out life with some extra money in your pocket – [it] can set you up for the long term. And that’s really helpful. But also, at the next level in the NFL, nothing is guaranteed. You can be on a team one week and you can be cut the next week, and there’s no promises there, but with NIL and everything like that, you have a lot more opportunities and a lot more guarantees within that.
— Mark Gronowski, via NBC5
If all things go according to plan, Iowa will play for a national championship next season. That would mean its new quarterback will get paid no less than $83,000 a month for the next 12 months.
And here’s the thing… he might not even start! Mark Gronowski is going battle with incumbent starter Brendan Sullivan, who transferred in from Northwestern last offseason, and Hank Brown, a former three-star recruit who transferred from Auburn. He is guaranteed his money as QB1, QB2 or QB3!