Although the transfer portal doesn’t open until Jan. 2, the quarterback market is starting to take shape. Multiple high-profile signal-callers announced their plans to hit the portal, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported how much the top QBs could make.

Thamel reported the “tip-top” of the quarterback market could reach $5 million. For comparison, Duke quarterback Darian Mensah was one of the highest-paid players in the country this past season at $4 million, On3’s Pete Nakos previously reported.

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Multiple big-name schools are expected to be looking for a quarterback in the portal this year, and names such as Brendan Sorsby, Dylan Raiola and Josh Hoover are already front-and-center. As a result, the market could surge, Thamel said.

“This market looks robust already, guys. … I made some calls today. Sources told me the tip-top of this quarterback market, financially, could reach $5 million for one season,” Thamel said Friday on ESPN College GameDay. “Look, it’s supply and demand. You have all those guys. Sorsby’s been linked early to Texas Tech. Dylan Raiola, there’s some smoke to Louisville, although maybe a playoff team jumps in late there. There’s been early links between Indiana and Hoover, assuming that [Fernando] Mendoza goes pro.

“Look, this is what’s going to drive the market. Oregon may lose Dante Moore, Miami’ll be in the quarterback market, so will LSU. So when you really take a look at what’s going to drive this quarterback market, it’s going to be the most expensive in the history of college football.”

Quarterback remains one of the biggest positions in the transfer portal, especially considering the recent success. Seven of the last nine Heisman Trophy winners have been transfers, including Mendoza this year. DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young are the only ones to stay with their own program at Alabama and win the award during that time.

Last year’s transfer quarterbacks were also among the highest-paid players in college football, On3 previously reported. Mensah’s $4 million payday was part of a two-year, $8 million deal at Duke. At Miami, Carson Beck inked a deal worth between $3 and $3.2 million, but up to $6 million with incentives.

The NCAA transfer portal window officially opens Jan. 2, meaning that’s when players’ names will start to appear. It will stay open for two weeks, closing Jan. 16.

The perception of bowl games and their significance to college football programs and players has undergone a rapid shift over the last decade.

In the current age of the sport, teams are turning down postseason bids while the transfer portal is filling up before most bowl games even kick off.

That’s just the reality of the situation. Normally, it’s the needy who are hit the hardest as G6 schools and poorly constructed FBS programs have their rosters raided.

Just take a look at what’s happening at UTSA.

UTSA’s Jeff Traylor: ‘I Hate What’s Going On In College Football’

Since transitioning to the FBS over a decade ago, UTSA has established itself in the Conference USA and the American Conference.

Head coach Jeff Traylor has led the program to six consecutive bowl games. That includes an up-and-down campaign in 2025, when the Roadrunners started 0-2 and won two of their final three games to finish 6-6.

UTSA is a week away from taking on FIU in the First Responder Bowl on December 26.

Going into the matchup, the Roadrunners could be without as many as 20 players. Many of those losses are due to the portal.

“We’ll be a shell of ourselves, but whoever we got out there, we’re going to go out there and play the best we can,” Traylor said, according to KENS 5’s Vinnie Vinzetta. “It’s just the numbers are so big with all the tampering. All the agents, it’s coaches too, it’s all of them. Our kids are being promised such incredible numbers, they’re getting lured into the portal.

“I just hope all the things those coaches and agents are promising they’re going to do for my kids. I hate it because I really want to coach them in a bowl game, but they’re getting leveraged out of it,” Traylor continued. “Their agents are telling them, they’ve got to not play in the bowl, they’ll get this number, they don’t play in the bowl [they’ll get this number].”

“I hate what’s going on in college football. I just think the numbers have gotten so large. You’re talking about teams that have $26 million to $40 million, and the number’s just too big, and who knows if they’re being told the truth? It’s sad, it really is sad,” Traylor added. “I never thought we’d be punished for making a bowl game by being leveraged, that if you don’t give them a certain number, they’re not going to play in a bowl.

Traylor is focused on the players still with the team, but he couldn’t help but recognize that college football looks a lot different than it did in his first season on the job.

“I’m going to celebrate the kids we have left, whoever that is, we’re going to go out there and play our tails off, and I’m very grateful for them,” Traylor said. “Again, I hate we’re talking about the 10 to 15 that probably are not going to play in the game, or 20, whatever that number ends up being. We should be talking about the 90 to 85 that are going to play with their teammates.”

“It’s like I just woke in another world as compared to where we were six years ago,” Traylor added.

Is there a way to combat what’s going on? Not really. There have been calls for coaches to report instances of tampering.

Most of the time, it’s hard for the people in charge to get the specifics of whose saying what.

“There’s no such thing as tampering. Coaches talk to players, agents talk to players,” Traylor said. “Oh, then turn them in, coach. You think those players are going to give me the coach that’s actually talking to them? Why? It’s driving the price up. The more they get driven up, the price goes up higher and higher.

“As long as there’s people gonna pay it, who’s going to stop it? What’s going to stop this? What’s going to stop it? Only the freedom of process is going to stop because when there’s no money left, what are we going to all do?”

As of December 19, four players who started multiple games for UTSA have announced plans to enter the transfer portal, including cornerbacks Davin Martin and KK Meier, defensive end Kenny Ozowalu, and defensive tackle Chidera Otutu.

More attrition is possible in the next seven days.

Read more on College Football HQ

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• Predicting landing spots for the Top 5 college football transfers (Dec. 17)

The Pinstripe Bowl was meant to serve as a bridge year moment for Clemson, a chance to reset expectations and evaluate younger talent with an eye toward 2026.

Instead, Dabo Swinney’s Monday media session revealed that 26 scholarship players won’t be available for the Tigers’ Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State.

That tally, largely injuries, a cluster of transfer departures and a handful of early NFL opt-outs, compounds a season that started with top-five expectations and ended 7-5. 

Swinney said 17 absences are injury-related, five players opted to transfer, and four declared for the NFL Draft; among those not playing are defensive stalwarts such as linebacker Wade Woodaz, defensive end T.J. Parker, and cornerback Avieon Terrell.

Offensively, Clemson still has quarterback Cade Klubnik, who threw for 2,750 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, but the Tigers will be without several key offensive linemen and skill-position contributors, including Antonio Williams and Bryant Wesco Jr., the team’s second- and third-leading receivers.

The 2025 campaign itself was already a disappointment by Clemson standards. 

A series of close losses to LSU, Georgia Tech, and Duke left Clemson 7–5 and out of playoff contention despite opening the season ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25.

Those results eliminated any margin for error, and the loss of more than two dozen scholarship players now makes the bowl a significant test of depth.

Penn State enters at 6–6 amid a coaching transition, with roster questions of its own but fewer high-profile opt-outs reported so far.

Penn State will be coached by interim Terry Smith after James Franklin was fired midseason and later took the Virginia Tech job.

For Clemson, the situation has immediate implications for its bowl competitiveness and longer-term questions about roster depth, retention, and development.

The Pinstripe Bowl will be played at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27 (Noon ET, ABC).

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There are plenty of examples of a star in pro sports taking less money in order to help the overall roster. But it isn’t something that’s hit college football yet … until now, thanks to Arch Manning. Manning has asked to take a reduced portion of the Longhorns’ direct payout pool.

Manning’s aim at taking less NIL funds is to help improve the roster around him. Just like Patrick Mahomes, who regularly gives up millions to help the Kansas City Chief’s roster. Tom Brady did it with New England. Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger have all helped the rosters around them by taking less.

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In the pros, there are salary caps to negotiate. While college has no salary cap (yet), there is a finite amount in the NIL house pool. Texas can only spend what it has available. And while that pool is one of the biggest in the nation, Texas still follows a budget.

No doubt, Manning will be hoping the Texas coaching staff uses some of the freed up football revenue sharing funds on the offensive line. The line struggled in front of Manning all season and certainly inhibited his development early in the season.

Two offensive linemen are gone after the Citrus Bowl and Texas might lose a third. Left tackle Trevor Goosby was named first-team All-SEC is now contemplating going pro. Running back Jadan Baugh from Florida is also on Texas’ radar. The talented RB won’t be cheap.

Of course, it’s not like Manning will starve. The redshirt sophomore has one of the highest NIL valuations in nation. Manning has NIL deals with Red Bull, Panani, Uber and Warby Parker. Manning made north of $3.5 million in NIL deals in 2025, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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With a big name that attracts major brands, Manning doesn’t need his big deals supplemented. But most college athletes are paid by the common pool of funds. Manning frees up some of that money for transfers.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Manning Pay Cut: Texas QB asks for less NIL money to help boost roster

The NCAA Transfer Portal claimed another big name on Thursday night.

TCU star quarterback Josh Hoover has announced he intends to move on from the program. Hoover spent the last four seasons with the Horned Frogs, taking over as the starter midway through the 2023 campaign and putting up big numbers in each of the last two years.

In 36 career games, Hoover has completed 771/1183 passes for 9,629 yards with 71 touchdowns to 33 interceptions. He added eight more scores on the ground. There’s a very real likelihood that Hoover’s the most productive quarterback returning to the sport in 2026.

Hoover ranks in the top 5 in TCU program history in touchdown passes and total offense. He’s expected to be a coveted option in the portal.

Where are five landing spots that make sense for Hoover?

Indiana Hoosiers

Back in the College Football Playoff with a different starter for the second consecutive season, Indiana has put together one of the most impressive runs in the sport since Curt Cignetti took over the program.

The undefeated Hoosiers produced their first Heisman Trophy winner in school history last weekend as star quarterback Fernando Mendoza ran away with the award. Mendoza has another season of eligibility remaining, but is projected to be a top selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Indiana has already been linked to Hoover, per CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer.

Miami Hurricanes

Miami has lived in the transfer portal over the past few years, investing plenty of time and money into building a contender for Mario Cristobal. The moves finally worked out in 2025 as a massive financial commitment to secure Carson Beck from Georgia helped power the Hurricanes to the playoffs.

Though the conclusion of the 2024 season was a disappointment, former Miami quarterback Cam Ward was developed into the No. 1 pick in the most recent NFL Draft. Beck will likely get a shot at the professional level as well.

With little proven depth on the roster, it makes sense to bring in another experienced quarterback like Hoover to keep the Hurricanes on the right track. Miami has proven it’s willing to pay up.

Oregon Ducks

Oregon is a known quarterback factory, sending former stars such as Marcus Mariota and Justin Herbert to the NFL. That hasn’t changed since Dan Lanning took over the program in 2022.

The Ducks have had a quarterback drafted in back-to-back years, with Bo Nix going in the first round in 2024 and Dillon Gabriel being selected within the top-100 picks in 2025. Lanning could do it again next April with Dante Moore, who is nearing the end of a career year.

If Moore does leap to the professional level, Hoover would be a solid fit. Nix, Gabriel, and Moore all began their college careers at different schools and later transferred to Oregon, a similar path Hoover is embarking on.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Suiting up for a playoff contender is pretty cool. Having a chance to win championships and staying home in the process might be even cooler.

Texas Tech has firmly entrenched itself as a program to reckon with in the modern age of the sport. The Red Raiders have plenty of money, and they’ve shown they’re willing to use it to pull in elite talent from the transfer portal and high school ranks.

With Behren Morton exhausting his eligibility following the playoff run, Texas Tech has to decide if it wants to turn the program over to another transfer or a homegrown talent like Will Hammond.

Either way, Hoover is from Texas and he’s already in the state.

Houston Cougars

An outlier among four other programs that have a chance to win it all, Houston is on the come-up. The Cougars haven’t been shy about writing checks, evidenced by the program signing five-star quarterback Keisean Henderson during the Early Signing Period.

Redshirt junior starter Conner Weigman does have one season of eligibility remaining and has stated he intends to return next season. Decisions are quick to change in this era, so never say never.

Would Houston bring in Hoover while Henderson develops for a season? Or should the program stick with Weigman as a veteran leader for Henderson?

Weigman just joined the program as a transfer last year. He was fine, but unspectacular this fall, and an upgrade could help the Cougars break their ceiling.

Read more on College Football HQ

• $45 million college football head coach reportedly offers Lane Kiffin unexpected role

• Paul Finebaum believes one SEC school is sticking by an ‘average’ head coach

• SEC football coach predicts major change after missing College Football Playoff

• Predicting landing spots for the Top 5 college football transfers (Dec. 17)