3. Higher NIL offer
Curtis reportedly had a very good NIL offer to come play at Georgia. Reports indicated that he would make $900,000 next season at Georgia with that amount scheduled to increase throughout his career in Athens.
While that is a large sum of money, it is still a little light for the No. 1 player in the country. So there is a chance Vanderbilt was able to offer him a higher amount to come play for them.
Similarly to how Smart will never promise anyone playing time, he also does not want to overpay for an unproven recruit out of high school. That includes someone like Curtis who is the top ranked player in the country. This offer from Georgia clearly was enough for him at first because he chose to commit to UGA, but there’s a chance Vanderbilt made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what led Curtis to flip to Vanderbilt, what’s done is done and Georgia needs to move on. But they will get their chance at revenge next season when Curtis and Vanderbilt come to Athens for a regular season matchup.