Steve Sarkisian can’t be serious saying Arch Manning is ‘underpaid’ originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning was the highest-paid college athlete last year, but some believe he’s undervalued.
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One of those in firm belief the $6.8 million signal-caller deserves a bigger NIL payout is Steve Sarkisian. Manning’s head coach recently advocated for his playmaker, saying Texas needs to break out the checkbook.
During an appearance with The Andy & Ari podcast on Thursday, On3’s college football analyst Chris Low checked in with Sarkisian, who talked about the offseason in Austin and Manning’s progression.
“Arch is probably the most underpaid quarterback in college football from what we’re paying,” Sarkisian told Low. From there, Low went on to say, “(Sarkisian) says he still has a text from Cooper (Manning) saying, ‘We’re not taking a dime. We want you to go out and get great players. And you can show this text to every player you recruit. And that’s a big help.”
Sarkisian sees a changing landscape in college athletics with some over-inflated values at key positions. The LSU Tigers spent over $40 million to rebuild their roster under Lane Kiffin, shifting the market in a major way. However, if it’s something we’ve learned many times over and over during the NIL era is that some teams are willing and able to overpay for talent.
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Regardless of the money, Manning is in a great position under Sarkisian who is known for building outstanding offensive schemes around his quarterbacks. Considering what Texas was able to put together in the second half of the season in 2025 and nearly make the College Football Playoff, there’s a renewed outlook for what the next second could be.
