How Much Money Do QBs Get on NIL Contracts? Latest Rumors Before National Signing Day

With college football's early signing period set to open Wednesday, all eyes are on many of the top recruits across the country.

And, as is often the case at every level of football, the quarterbacks are generating plenty of headlines and reportedly taking home plenty of name, image and likeness money.

Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales of The Athletic reported on the NIL situation and noted Power 4 quarterbacks typically make more money than other positions. They cited a Power 4 personnel staffer who said $100,000 to $300,000 is the approximate "baseline rate" for a quarterback at that level.

However, that number increases depending on a signal-caller's recruiting ranking with three different industry sources telling The Athletic 5-star players make between $750,000 to $1 million per year.

Other factors, such as whether a quarterback is expected to start right away, can also impact first-year compensation.

That was the case for Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 player in the entire 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He immediately established himself as the Wolverines' starter and, per Khan and Morales, received a multiyear deal that pays him around $10 million.

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He represented a unique situation as both the top-rated player in his class and someone Michigan was battling LSU for on the recruiting trail. The Wolverines also had a glaring hole at quarterback and addressed it accordingly with Underwood.

The freshman flashed his potential but also experienced some growing pains in his first regular season as he completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,229 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

He was just 8-of-18 for 63 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in Saturday's loss to rival Ohio State.

While high-profile quarterback signings often reset the market in the NFL, that may not be the case with Underwood at the college level. An agent told The Athletic he was more of an outlier than the rule when it came to NIL given the unique circumstances surrounding his recruitment.

Still, quarterbacks are making a significant amount of money in the modern era of college football.