Being a 21-year-old young chap, there is already too much on Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning’s plate. He’s steering the wheel of Steve Sarkisian’s program as their QB1. Now, that’s no big task. A lot of quarterbacks are also doing it like a pro. But for Arch, he is also the flagbearer of the Manning legacy and will have to face the ‘nepo-baby’ attacks in case he even takes one wrong step. Arch already found his mentors in his quarterback family: his granddad Archie Manning and uncles Eli and Peyton. But his dad, Cooper Manning, had to quit sports early. Still, that didn’t stop Arch from having a heart-to-heart with him about managing his $6.5 million status.
Texas is navigating college football’s most volatile era with a clear strategy for long-term dominance. Right now, Sarkisian’s program is looking at a hefty $40 million in projected roster costs for the 2025 season. This gives them an edge, favoring players with good pay. And the former five-star QB Manning is “by far” the highest-paid player on the Texas roster. Now that Quinn Ewers is gone, Arch will be donning the QB1 jersey. And with this, his NIL valuation has skyrocketed to $6.5 million. The 21-year-old quarterback blew away competitors like Carson Beck ($4.3 million) of Miami and Jeremiah Smith ($4 million) of Ohio State. That’s how Arch is now running the first wagon in the NIL train. While his father, uncles, and grandfather could give him advice about his gameplay, none of them belonged to the NIL era.
But that did not stop Arch Manning from running to his father and pouring his heart out. On the May 24th episode of the Under the Number podcast, Cooper shared, “One, we never talked money ever before he figured out where he wanted to go to college. We never discussed it with the coaches, anybody about that, was a factor.”
Steve Sarkisian actually spent a hefty $280,000 on a recruiting spree to bring the five-star Manning to Texas. You might think Arch would be flashy with that kind of backing, but it seems his grandpa advised him otherwise. Arch believes he needs to earn his keep at the right time, a lesson from the senior Manning. “I didn’t want to be the guy rolling in with all this money when we have guys like Jake Majors who have had 40 starts here and not making any. I’m taking all the money, so I wanted to kind of earn my money, work hard, get to know the players, and, you know, kind of earn my way up,” Arch himself said, recalling his grandpa’s NIL advice.
To Arch, more than the money, the ‘feel-good’ factor and the contentment at the end of the day hold greater importance. “He wants to make a decision on where you want to go to school, where you’re going to be happy, where you think you fit in, make friends like the coaches, and are going to be happy if the whole football thing doesn’t work out.” But thank God, both of them worked out for him.
On the football front, he is already gaining NFL spotlight with the New Orleans Saints likely to be his hottest pursuer in the 2026 NFL Draft. On the other hand, in NIL, Arch had just hit another milestone. Last month, in April, the Texas quarterback signed another deal with Panini America, after Red Bull in January. And finally, the concerned dad could let out a sigh of relief.
“Arch said the other day, ‘Dad I think I’ve figured out this NIL stuff is if it doesn’t feel right in my gut don’t do it.’ And I said, ‘Buddy that’s the way it works for 99% of the world’…The gut is hard to fight,” Cooper Mannin said. Looks like Arch’s gut really served him well.
The quarterback chose to stay loyal to the Longhorns. And the universe blessed him with a big tax benefit. The tax rate varies from 10% for low-income earners to 37% for the upper strata. But it varies from state to state as well. While California has the highest tax rate with 13.3%, Texas is among the eight states that have no income tax. In that way, Arch made the right decision. Meanwhile, he is fulfilling his dad’s unfinished dreams.
Arch Manning’s path to glory hits a roadblock
Archie Manning had an amazing football career at the University of Mississippi. He was a first-team All-American and placed fourth in the Heisman Trophy race in 1969. Later, he went to the NFL, picked by New Orleans as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. His big season came in 1972, his second year, when he started all 14 games, completing 230-of-448 passes for 2781 yards and 18 touchdowns. This strong football legacy was carried on by his sons, Eli and Peyton. Peyton Manning was the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and Eli Manning was the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. And what about Arch’s father, Cooper?
Well, Cooper Manning started strong in high school as a wide receiver. His success earned him a scholarship at Ole Miss. However, Cooper’s football career ended before he could even play a single game for the Rebels. That’s when he got diagnosed with spinal stenosis. This is how his college football career came to an end even before his brother stepped foot in college.
Meanwhile, his son’s first year as a starter in Texas was on turbo mode when someone unexpectedly hit the brakes. It wasn’t a famous name, but rather an unheralded one that’s shaking things up for Arch Manning. It’s Fernando Mendoza, a transfer from the Indiana Hoosiers and a product of the California Golden Bears.
YahooSports recently dropped a bombshell post: “Nate Ice has Fernando Mendoza as his QB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft over Arch Manning.” Now, to live up to his family’s name, Arch needs to quiet the chatter and sprint towards the NFL like it’s his only path.
The post Forced to Give Up His Football Dream, Arch Manning’s Father Admits Tough Conversation With Son Over $6.5M Reality appeared first on EssentiallySports.