Getty Image / Kevin Sabitus
Over the weekend, hundreds of new millionaires were created by the NFL Draft. For many of these players, the money will significantly improve the financial situations of not just themselves, but their entire families. If the money is handled correctly, it can create generational wealth that will secure the future of their family for decades. While new Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is one of those new millionaires, the quarterback has a lot less money than he could have had.
Will Levis started his college career at Penn State, where he sat behind Green Bay Packers fifth-round pick Sean Clifford. He transferred to Kentucky before the 2021 season and blossomed into a big-time NFL quarterback prospect there.
Will Levis has a big arm, great mobility, and the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. If you squint hard enough, you can see a little bit of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in Levis. But, he was turnover prone and threw 23 interceptions in his two years as a starter.
Still, he was considered to be a lock to go in the first round of last weekend’s NFL Draft, possibly in the top five. But, he kept slipping, and awkwardly sat in the green room all throughout the first round and was not selected. He didn’t have to wait long on Friday, however, as he was selected with the 2nd pick of the 2nd round by the Tennessee Titans.
WILL LEVIS IS TENNESSEE BOUND 💪
The Titans trade up and draft the QB with the 33rd overall pick. pic.twitter.com/5C0LjpV2bx
— ESPN (@espn) April 28, 2023
But, his slide cost him quite a bit of money. Here is Pro Football Talk with more details.
It was an expensive drop for Levis. Based on 2022 contract values, the difference between No. 4 overall (Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner) and the second pick in round two (Packers receiver Christian Watson ) is more than $24 million, from $33.45 million to $9.24 million.
Also, the fourth overall pick gets a four-year, fully-guaranteed contract. The second pick in round two does not.
The good news for Levis is that the Titans can’t use the fifth-year option to keep him from the open market or the franchise tag in 2027. It’s a very small consolation for Levis , who quite possibly would have been the fourth overall pick if the Cardinals had traded with a team that wanted to jump up and get Richardson.
That’s quite a bit of lost income. Thankfully for Levis, if he lives up to his potential, he will get quite a large extension one year ahead of his draft class peers.