The ability of players to cash in on name, image and likeness deals has changed college football, and it also changes the reality of pro football for some rookies who will make less money in the NFL than they made in college.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said the he’s even more determined to draft players who truly love playing football now that the financial incentives for some of those players have changed.
“The biggest issue is that, for the first time in the history of the National Football League, you’re taking players who are taking pay cuts,” Roseman said. “So the character of those players, their passion and love of the game, comes to the forefront even more.”
One such player is Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers, who reportedly turned down NIL deals worth up to $8 million to stay in college when he entered last year’s draft. As a seventh-round pick, Ewers got a four-year, $4.3 million contract.
It will only become more common for players to enter the NFL and have to accept contracts that pay them less than they made in college. And NFL teams will want to know that those players won’t put in less effort when they’re paid less money.
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