The college football offseason has evolved into a high-stakes marketplace where the most valuable commodity is a proven quarterback. When a top-tier signal-caller becomes available, the ripple effects can alter the trajectory of multiple powerhouse programs instantly.

A new name currently sits atop the rankings for available passers, and his decision will likely dominate the news cycle in the coming weeks as teams scramble to secure their future under center.

This prospect brings a proven track record and extensive experience, making him an immediate upgrade for any roster in the country. Recruiting analysts have already identified two major programs as the primary suitors for his services.

The connection to one school involves a potential homecoming for the athlete, while the other offers a chance to compete in the nation’s toughest conference under an offensive-minded head coach.

However, the timing of this move presents a unique challenge for both the athlete and the coaching staffs involved in the pursuit. Roster uncertainty at the potential destinations could force a waiting game that neither side truly wants to navigate. As the postseason approaches, the first major domino needs to fall before the rest of the transfer market can truly take shape.

Sam Leavitt reportedly linked to Oregon Ducks and LSU Tigers

Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt is the player commanding all the attention. According to On3 analyst J.D. PicKell, the veteran passer is heavily focusing on the Oregon Ducks and LSU Tigers. PicKell identified the two programs as the “schools to watch” as the process unfolds.

The connection to Eugene makes sense given Leavitt’s background. He is a native of the state, and a return to the Pacific Northwest would allow him to be “close to Mom’s home cooking,” according to PicKell. There is a complication regarding the current roster. Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore has not yet announced his plans for next season.

“Sam Leavitt is not going to go wait a year behind Dante Moore to play college football,” PicKell said.

Uncertainty also surrounds the coaching staff. PicKell noted that Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein is set to become the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite the potential turnover, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has earned trust through his previous hiring decisions.

The interest in the LSU Tigers centers on professional development. PicKell highlighted the presence of new head coach Lane Kiffin.

PicKell described Kiffin as a “portal quarterback whisperer” based on his previous work with Trinidad Chambliss and Jaxson Dart. The opportunity to play in the SEC allows a quarterback to put game film up against NFL-caliber talent. This level of competition serves as a crucial filter for players eyeing the next level.

The timeline for a decision likely hinges on the upcoming schedule. Leavitt may have to wait for the conclusion of the postseason to gauge the depth chart at his preferred schools.

“You’re kind of sitting there twiddling your thumbs if you’re Sam Leavitt,” PicKell said regarding the wait for Moore’s decision.

Leavitt enters the market after a foot injury cut his season short. He threw for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games. Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham addressed the departure on social media.

“Going to succeed wherever he goes,” Dillingham wrote.

Read more on College Football HQ

NCAA President Charlie Baker has drawn a line in the sand: if a player signs an NBA contract, they will not be granted any college eligibility.

This isn’t exactly a new rule, but it’s one that’s come into question after Baylor brought in James Nnaji to its current roster as a midseason addition. Nnaji was the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but was granted four full years of eligibility by the NCAA last week and could play for the Bears as soon as this weekend. Reports from the likes of On3, CBS Sports, and ESPN have since come out saying that Trentyn Flowers, who has appeared in two NBA games this season, is looking at the possibility of playing in college.

But Baker released a statement on Tuesday firmly stating that any player who signs an NBA contract (including two-way deals) will not be granted any college eligibility.

“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker wrote on social media. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.

“While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.“

Nnaji’s (who never technically signed an NBA contract despite being drafted, although he did appear in the NBA Summer League) situation isn’t far off from what happens with international prospects that come over to play college basketball in the United States. The path to how he got there just looks different.

Kentucky’s Andrija Jelavić, for example, spent multiple years playing professionally in Serbia, but did not attend college in the US previously and has never signed an NBA contract, clearing the path for him to receive three years of eligibility at UK. A handful of former G League players who have not played in NBA games have been granted college eligibility in recent months.

Despite Baker’s strong statement, don’t be shocked if players/agents/coaches push for players with NBA experience to play in college anyway. But this was as clear-cut as we’ve heard the NCAA be on this situation so far.

In 2025, college sports underwent another major transformation as revenue-sharing arrived. But that was just one of the top storylines in the NIL and sports business space.

The House v. NCAA settlement became the top story from this calendar year, but private equity is also sure to be part of the conversation into 2026. Those talks took place throughout 2025, with the Big Ten and Big 12 at the forefront.

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Of course, there was also a high-profile NIL dispute and a major step in the NCAA’s quest for federal legislation to help settle the landscape. Here is On3’s 2025 year in review, breaking down the Top 10 storylines in NIL and sports business.

House settlement ushers in rev-share era

After receiving preliminary approval in 2024, the quest for final approval of the House settlement ended in June 2025. That’s when Judge Claudia Wilken approved the landmark agreement, paving the way for schools to directly share up to $20.5 million with athletes. It also brought about the College Sports Commission as a new enforcement entity, led by CEO Bryan Seeley.

The CSC launched to enforce key terms of the 10-year settlement, including the NIL Go clearinghouse, which received a slew of criticism after its initial debut. NIL Go has cleared $87.5 million in deals as of the last update Nov. 6. However, the CSC’s participation agreements are also generating skepticism as 2025 winds down.

Private equity, capital talks swirl

As schools prepared for rev-share, the idea of private equity and private capital came about in college sports, with the Big Ten and Big 12 front-and-center. The Big Ten has explored a more than $2 billion private capital deal, but it generated pushback from some member schools.

Additionally, Ross Dellenger reported the Big 12 is nearing a private capital deal of its own which would infuse millions to member schools. A Big 12 school also announced a first-of-its-kind equity deal in December. Utah announced a deal with Otro Capital, which would infuse up to nine figures in cash and create a for-profit entity, Utah Brands and Entertainment.

Nico Iamaleava transfers amid NIL dispute

Late in the spring college football transfer portal window in 2025, On3’s Pete Nakos reported Tennessee and quarterback Nico Iamaleava were in active negotiations about a new deal. However, the situation took multiple turns, and Iamaleava later entered the portal.

Iamaleava missed a practice before the Vols’ spring game, Volquest reported, and Tennessee ultimately decided to move on from him. He later committed to UCLA, but the reaction poured in from across the college football world after the NIL dispute.

One of the biggest storylines of the 2025 college football season was the amount of money schools paid in coaching buyouts. Multiple high-profile firings led to more than $228 million in buyout money handed out, flying past the previous record of $132 set in 2023 – fueled by Jimbo Fisher’s $77 million figure.

LSU coach Brian Kelly received the highest buyout of the cycle at $53 million, and James Franklin’s $49 million buyout at Penn State dropped to $9 million after he took the Virginia Tech job and triggered his duty to mitigate clause. Kelly’s buyout is the second-largest in history behind Fisher’s, and Billy Napier received the third-largest from Florida at $21 million.

Wisconsin sues Miami after Xavier Lucas transfer

One of the biggest transfer stories of 2025 didn’t involve the portal at all. Wisconsin DB Xavier Lucas withdrew from the university and enrolled at Miami. The University of Wisconsin then sued the University of Miami and its NIL collective for alleged tortious interference.

The suit marked an unprecedented moment in college athletics as one university sued another over financial damages. Miami later filed a motion to dismiss the suit, On3’s Pete Nakos and Brett McMurphy reported, which is still being worked through.

ACC settles lawsuit with Florida State, Clemson

One of the ACC’s top priorities in 2025 was to settle lawsuits brought by Florida State and Clemson, challenging the conference’s grant of rights. Both boards approved settlement terms in March, ending the legal battles on all fronts.

As part of the agreement, the ACC will have a new exit fee structure and revenue distribution model. It will now be based on a five-year rolling average of TV ratings, with a majority share of the base media rights placed into a viewership pool for distribution.

Former NBA Draftee James Nnaji deemed eligible

Amid multiple eligibility questions the NCAA faced in 2025, one of the biggest decisions came in December. James Nnaji, a former NBA Draft pick, signed with Baylor after receiving four years of eligibility. That decision brought plenty of reaction across college basketball.

Though the Detroit Pistons drafted Nnaji – and his draft rights were part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade to the New York Knicks – he never played in an NBA or NBA G-League game. Instead, he played professionally in Europe. The NCAA granted Nnaji four years of immediate eligibility, meaning he can join Baylor for the rest of the 2025-26 season.

NCAA’s quest for federal legislation stalls

Since the NIL era began, the NCAA has been searching for federal legislation to help settle the landscape. Those efforts ramped up in 2025, and the SCORE Act was on track for a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives at one point. However, the vote was removed from the schedule that day, and Senate Democrats criticized the legislation.

The SCORE Act was one of a handful of college sports-focused bills announced. The COACH Act was introduced in October to cap college football coaches’ salaries and buyouts, and the “Restore College Sports Act” was introduced in March. That bill would create an entity to replace the NCAA.

President Donald Trump wants to get involved

Amid the NCAA’s pursuit of a federal bill, President Donald J. Trump also made it clear he was willing to step in to help settle things down. He took multiple steps toward that goal, notably signing an executive order in July to crack down on pay-for-play, third-party NIL deals.

Trump was also putting together a presidential commission with Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban as co-chairs. Plans for the commission were paused, but Trump remained vocal about NIL in college athletics.

Throughout the 2025 college football season, TV ratings surged. Regular-season viewership increased by 9% from a year ago, and ABC emerged as the biggest winner.

ABC aired 17 of the Top 20 most-watched games of the year, led by Texas vs. Texas A&M in their Week 14 rivalry game. FOX, however, had the top two games of the season: Ohio State’s Week 14 win over Michigan (18.4 million) and the Buckeyes’ Week 1 victory over Texas (16.6 million) led the way.

College athletics saw plenty of changes throughout 2025 as the NIL and rev-share eras are officially underway. Heading into 2026, though, there are still plenty more storylines to track in the ever-changing space.

With elite high school football and basketball traditions stretching from Shreveport to New Orleans, the new pay-the-players era that allows kids to profit from paid endorsements has led to big business in Louisiana, and some athletes are bringing home six-figure incomes before they even graduate.

But it’s also spawned a host of concerns around a lack of financial protections for young athletes, and who can claim a stake in the money they’re now allowed to earn.

Those concerns were a key focus this year of a 22-person legislative task force involving Louisiana lawmakers, lawyers, college athletic administrators, coaches and student athletes. The group was empaneled to study the effects of paid endorsements and salaries for the state’s high school and college players.

They began shortly after a landmark NCAA settlement in June, which allowed college athletes to begin collecting salaries directly from their universities this season. For the past four years, college athletes could earn money through outside endorsement deals but not directly from their schools.

Over the course of five meetings, the panel zeroed in on the so-called “NIL” era in high school sports, named for the money that athletes have been allowed to earn since 2021 through endorsements or other use of their name, image and likeness.

Under the task force’s recommendations, which will be forwarded to lawmakers in January, the state would require that anyone other than a parent who helps high schoolers negotiate endorsement contracts must register as an agent with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. That requirement is already in place for professional sports agents in Louisiana.

The agents would also be subject to background checks and required to complete training.

Lawmakers could craft the changes to allow high schoolers to recoup any money paid to an unlicensed agent, said Harry J. “Skip” Philips, Jr., assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General.

“You’d try to get back as best you can the ill-gotten gains, as it were, and give it to the student athlete,” Philips said during the task force’s December meeting.

“I’m not sure we’ve fixed this problem altogether,” Philips added, but the changes give authorities a mechanism for pursuing what Phillips called “renegaders,” or people posing as professional agents in order to reap the benefits.

The panel’s chair, Rep. Rashid Young, said in an interview that the recommendations are meant to be a starting point, and lawmakers are welcome to add revisions.

“This is sort of one of those building-a-plane-as-we-fly type of situations,” said Young, a Homer Democrat and former linebacker and strong safety at Grambling State. “We’ll see how it works. If we need to come back and adjust, I think everybody is open to doing that.”

The task force didn’t recommend any specific NIL-related changes to state law regarding college athletics, other than a resolution that would study the “funding structures of athletic departments” and “evaluate the financial implications of NIL activities.”

The panel did recommend a list of best practices for Louisiana college athletic departments, including educating athletes on “available mental health resources” and to “carefully consider Title IX implications” when deciding how to dole out college athlete salaries.

LSU has said 90% of the $18 million it has earmarked in salaries will go to football and men’s basketball players. The university — and all others in the state — have rejected public records requests to turn over salary data per individual athlete.

The task force turned its attention to high school agents after J.T. Curtis, football coach at John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, told the panel of “rampant” problems among the state’s premier football schools.

Adults with no professional certifications or backgrounds in the law swoop in to secure representation from Louisiana’s top recruits, some as young as 12 or 13 years old, Curtis told the panel.

“Until we find a way to get outside influences out of the lives of our high school athletes, we’re going to continue struggling with this,” Curtis said during an August meeting.

In the task force’s final meeting in December, Curtis called the panel’s recommendations “a good beginning.”

Historically, Louisiana has one of the nation’s largest shares of high school football players who are recruited by Division I colleges.

In the upcoming 2026 class, eight football players from Louisiana high schools are ranked in the Top 200, according to 247 Sports. In 2025, it was nine.

For athletes under the age of 17, the task force recommended legislation requiring them to deposit a portion of their compensation into a trust account, which they’d have access to later as an adult.

The account could be drawn from “under specified conditions, such as educational expenses or milestone events, while maintaining safeguards to prevent misuse,” per the task force’s adopted language.

The task force also recommended the Louisiana High School Athletic Association adopt a formal set of NIL bylaws that it would police among the state’s members.

They include prohibiting athletes from endorsing products associated with alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, adult entertainment and gambling.

The rules would allow schools to prohibit students from NIL activities if they interfere with classes, practices, games or competitions.

Joey McGuire pushed back on the idea that Texas Tech is in the position it is due to NIL money. The Red Raiders made the College Football Playoff for the first time ever this season after winning the Big 12, but also paid a big price to get here.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, a survey revealed Texas Tech spent the second-most money of any college football team on their roster this season. That has led to a lot of chatter from fans that the Red Raiders “bought” their success and spot in the CFP.

Although it’s certainly true that Texas Tech spent a lot of money, it isn’t exactly unique in that way with the current era of college sports. McGuire also believes that there was more than just the dollar figures that attracted players to Lubbock, citing the academic success of the team during his tenure.

“Texas Tech has been playing football for 100 years,” the coach said in an appearance on The Triple Option. “Since I’ve been here, we hold every single GPA record in the history of Texas Tech football. With all these guys that we brought in, they just set the all-time GPA record as a team for a fall semester. We have a 3.23 team GPA. So whenever you’re sitting there and taking about, ‘All these guys came in because of money,’ we have 33 graduates who will play in this playoff game and this team set the all-time GPA record.

“So that tells you right there what this building’s all about. How they hold each other accountable, how everything is important. Everything that we do, we do it at the highest standard. So I am really proud of that. I just think that shows that this team’s come here for one reason and one reason only. They came here to be better football players and better men.”

Texas Tech has five players ranked inside On3’s NIL Top 100 for college football. That includes edge rusher David Bailey, who led the Big 12 with 13.5 sacks, and quarterback Behren Morton.

Regardless, they aren’t the only players in this College Football Playoff who are receiving big pay days. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith has an NIL valuation of $4.2 million, while Miami quarterback Carson Beck is making an estimated $3.1 million.

So as much talk as there has been about what Texas Tech players are being paid, it’s not against the rules anymore. This is the kind of team you can build in the NIL era, and at least the Red Raiders are also focusing on more than just the money. They take on Oregon in the Orange Bowl at 12 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day.

There has been a tremendous amount of staff turnover around the SEC, but particularly between LSU and Ole Miss in recent weeks. That includes Frank Wilson, who has been the interim head coach for the Tigers since the firing of Brian Kelly and has since taken the running backs coach job at Ole Miss.

Wilson was hired by Ole Miss in the middle of December, during bowl prep. That was notable because LSU had hired Lane Kiffin to be its next head coach away from Ole Miss. Kiffin had publicly made it clear that he wanted to coach Ole Miss through the College Football Playoff, but wasn’t allowed to do so. It was a different situation for Wilson, though, who was allowed to coach LSU through the bowl game.

LSU would end up losing the Texas Bowl 38-35 to Houston. After the game, Wilson spoke passionately about why it mattered to him to be on the sidelines for this game.

“Very proud to get this team to the finish line,” Frank Wilson said. “And when we were in the midst of the transition, and I was asked about coaching in this game, I said to an administrator, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna finish with my boys. I’ll burn this building down if you don’t let me finish. I’m gonna finish with my boys.’”

Obviously, the Wilson and Kiffin situations are unique from one another. Wilson was an interim, and the Texas Bowl is not the College Football Playoff. Kiffin left for a rival, while Wilson may have needed to leave for a new job regardless. Still, in all of that, Wilson had that desire to finish what he started with players he loved.

“Because the love is unconditional,” Wilson said. “So, they go out and they compete today and we finished second against a quality opponent.”

Frank Wilson was in his second stint at LSU. This stint had been since 2022, with him taking on the duties of assistant head coach and running backs coach before his promotion to interim head coach. He finished that run with a record of 2-3.

Frank Wilson addresses decision to leave LSU for Ole Miss

Prior to the bowl, Frank Wilson opened up on his decision to leave LSU for Ole Miss. He also noted the role that Lane Kiffin played in that, helping for him to make it work.

“We talked about it. We talked about ways that it could work out. Coach Kiffin was absolutely awesome the entire time in wanting to try and find a way to work it out. We didn’t come to that resolution, and so there were other opportunities out there,” Wilson said.

“Pete Golding is a guy who I’ve known for many years, from the time he concluded playing college football and was a young coach at Delta State Southeastern and then Southern Miss of course. Then, I had an opportunity to hire him back at UTSA. We’ve forged an even closer bond and mutual respect professional for one another, so when the opportunity came, he extended himself to me and I thought it was a great fit for myself and my family.”