Dylan Stewart Contract Rumors, South Carolina EDGE to Be Among Top-Paid CFB Players

South Carolina's football team is getting one of its best players back for the 2026 season.

Pass-rusher Dylan Stewart announced Tuesday he will "run it back" with the Gamecocks next year.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported he "is expected to be among the country's highest paid players."

This is another major development for next season's South Carolina team after quarterback LaNorris Sellers also announced he is returning. Sellers will have the opportunity to play his way up 2027 NFL draft boards after a rather inconsistent 2025 campaign.

As for Stewart, he arrived at South Carolina as a highly regarded 5-star prospect and the No. 1 edge rusher in the recruiting class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He chose the SEC program over Ohio State and others and will have the chance to fully live up to his potential and turn heads in the NFL next season.

Stewart posted 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks as a freshman and then followed up with 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2025.

While he didn't make the significant jump from a statistical perspective that many were expecting, he also played through a back injury this past season.

If he is healthy and ready to go in 2026, anything less than a dominant showing would be something of a surprise given his skillset and the experience he will have as a junior leader of the defense.

South Carolina was just 4-8 overall and 1-7 in SEC play in 2025. There were a handful of near-misses on the way to that disappointing record, including when it blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter against Alabama and a 30-3 halftime advantage against Texas A&M.

Having a healthy Stewart back next year could help it avoid a similar fate in back-to-back seasons.