Georgia football are the kings of the SEC after winning the conference the last two years. The Bulldogs have been able to beat everyone in their path over the last two years en route to their back-to-back titles, but Texas is the one team who has fallen to Georgia the most.
It goes without saying how badly the Longhorns want to beat Georgia in the coming years. So in an effort to better compete with UGA, Texas quarterback Arch Manning made a stunning announcement that he will be taking a pay cut next season in hopes of making his team around him better.
NEW: Texas QB Arch Manning will take a reduced House payment share in support of the Longhorns’ 2026 championship pursuit, @InsideTexas reports🤘https://t.co/b2EsrzCGzY pic.twitter.com/Lc1qeO7XAL
— On3 (@On3sports) December 19, 2025
Arch Manning takes a pay cut in hopes of helping Texas compete with Georgia
Manning is one of the highest paid players in all of college football. Some of that is dserved by his play on the field, but a big reason for that is because of the name on the back of his jersey. Regardless of what has led him to be paid so much money, Manning felt that he needs to take a pay cut heading into next season.
The only reason Manning is doing this is so Texas can spend that extra money beefing up the rest of their roster. So Manning clearly thinks they aren't good enough to compete with Georgia today, and it's hard to argue against that.
Since joining the SEC the Longhorns have lost to Georgia three times. This includes losing at home and in the SEC Championship game last year and in blowout fashion in Athens this year. Manning has been part of all three of those losses, so he is getting very desperate to finally overcome Georgia and win the SEC.
This isn't the only move Texas has made in an effort to better compete with Georgia. On Thursday the Longhorns announced that they were stealing Will Muschamp from Georgia and hiring him to become their new Defensive Coordinator.
Georgia and Texas are not scheduled to play next season, but there is a chance they could meet in the SEC Championship game. History says that Georgia would win that hypothetical matchup, but this move by Manning could be the thing to swing this matchup in their favor.