After his second year with the Texas Longhorns in 2023, Quinn Ewers seemed like one of the top QB prospects in his class. He led Texas to a 10-2 record, including a win in the Big 12 championship and a big performance in a losing effort in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. He earned Second-Team All-Big 12 honors with nearly 3,500 yards, 22 TDs, and just six picks.
However, with Arch Manning breathing down his neck in 2024, Ewers seemed to regress. That was seen most notably in his decision-making, as he led the SEC in interceptions last year, with 12. Ewers’ INT rate nearly doubled too.
He also lost the SEC championship and didn’t perform as well in another semifinal loss in the CFP. That caused his draft stock to take a major hit, which led to questions about staying in college another year.
Ewers decided to forego his final year of college eligibility and declare for the draft instead. He was the 13th and final QB selected, going 231st overall in the seventh round to the Miami Dolphins. He’s set to play on a rookie contract worth four years and about $4.3 million.
That entire contract represents about half of his supposed NIL earning potential in 2025, which was $8 million. However, Cam Newton thinks people are using hindsight to say Ewers should have stayed in college.
“But if he went in the first two or three rounds, everybody would’ve said you made the right decision,” argued the former QB.
“But the NIL money will never compare to what the NFL money is. And that $8 million is only a projection. There’s no contracts that we can show to date that says these people who are projected to have a $10 million NIL evaluation. It’s just an evaluation,” added Newton.
On top of the fact that the $8 million was more of an estimate than any deal Ewers had waiting for him, there’s also the Arch Manning factor. He arrived at Texas in 2023 and redshirted his freshman year, but he was much more involved in 2024. It was clear they were moving on to Manning, so Ewers didn’t have a place at Texas past 2024.
“I don’t think Quinn Ewers could stay. … I don’t think it was in his best interest to stay at Texas. I don’t think he could stay at Texas. That hourglass had no sand at the top. Okay [hitting the transfer portal], cool, he should’ve pulled a Carson Beck. That’s subjective. “
Ewers could have transferred like Carson Beck did, but, as Newton said, NIL is just temporary money. The former Heisman Trophy winner also rightly pointed out that NIL money is not supposed to be akin to salary, but rather money to make the lives of student-athletes comfortable.
“I’ve said it time and time again, the NIL was just a tool for athletes in college to have a comfortable college experience. This is not forever money.”
At the end of the day, Quinn Ewers didn’t land in the worst situation in the NFL. A lot of guys have played QB for the Dolphins over the last few years. They’ve had six guys take snaps since the 2022 season. That’s because the starter, Tua Tagovailoa, has been very injury-prone.
That means if Ewers can get that backup role, he could very well see significant playing time as a rookie. He just has to beat out Zach Wilson for that QB2 spot. But even if he doesn’t and Wilson gets in there as the backup at some point and stinks it up (which is possible, if not likely), calls for Ewers will start coming sooner rather than later on South Beach.
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Stephen A. and Shannon Sharpe debate | First Take
