"It's not about the money": Steve Sarkisian hails $6.6M NIL-value Arch Manning ahead of Texas' 2025 season
Despite having started only two games to this point, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is a household name in college football. Of course, a good part of that fame has come from his surname. Both of his uncles won Super Bowls. His grandfather was a star NFL quarterback as well.
Manning has cashed in on NIL deals, namely with Red Bull, but that's not what he's worried about as he gears up to be the Longhorns' guy under center next season. His coach, Steve Sarkisian, made that known.
"It's not about the money necessarily," Sarkisian said during the "Off the Edge" podcast at the Sportico House on Tuesday at SXSW. "It's about (him) wanting to be a really good player and wanting to be the quarterback at Texas to bring another national championship back here.
"I think, to him, that's more important than any of the NIL deals, revenue sharing or any of the other stuff that goes on."
Arch Manning has an NIL valuation of $6.6 million, according to On3. He won both games he started last year, against UL Monroe and Mississippi State. He was Quinn Ewers' backup the rest of the way and didn't complain about his role.
“He’s just a normal guy,” Sarkisian said. “If you took the name off the back of his jersey and let him go live life, he wouldn’t have to change. He cares about the little people and cares about the big-name people. It doesn’t matter to him. It’s who you are as a person. That’s his approach to life.”
What should fans expect from Arch Manning as Texas' starter?
With Quinn Ewers having moved on to the NFL, Arch Manning steps in maybe as the highest-touted quarterback in recent memory. Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is one of many who are high on Manning's prospects for the Longhorns.
"I think a lot of people, when you watch Arch Manning as a young high school prospect and then you look at his first spring game performance and the steady progress that’s been made the last couple years," McElroy said earlier this month on his podcast. "Every time he’s gotten on the field, you’ve seen a little growth. You’ve seen a little improvement.
"And while he’s carved a little bit of a role last year as a quarterback that had some mobility that the defense had to account for, I’m even more optimistic that there’s a lot more in the tank."
Manning brings a mobility aspect to his game that Ewers didn't have. How much Sarkisian plans on using that specific talent, however, will be a major question. While it would help the team, Sarkisian won't want to put his star quarterback in harm's way all that often.
The Arch Manning experience will still be a fun one.