One new debate that is taking place in major college athletics is if it makes sense financially for players to go pro instead of staying in college and continuing to make loads of NIL money. Before NIL was legal in college athletics, every player would make more money if they turned pro, but that isn’t the case anymore.
As an example, former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was selected in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, and it’s expected that his starting salary with the Dolphins will only be $800,000. It’s a guarantee that he would have made more in NIL if he stayed in college, so from a financial standpoint it would’ve made more sense for Ewers to stay in college.
That however isn’t the case with all the Bulldogs who were drafted as they proved that sometimes NIL is overrated and turning pro is the best option.
That seems pretty good, no? pic.twitter.com/AMjuemR9OJ
— DawgsHQ (@DawgsHQ) April 29, 2025
Georgia rookies projected signing bonuses is next level
Georgia football had 13 players selected in the NFL Draft this past weekend which included three players being taken in the first round of the draft. UGA clearly had one of the best drafts out of all the schools in the country, and that is once again seen by their projected signing bonuses.
According to Dawgs HQ, the 13 Bulldogs are projected to sign a combined $43.1 million just in signing bonuses. So without even factoring in the annual salary each player wil make, Georgia's incoming rookie class has already made a lot of money.
And while it's unclear how much they all made in NIL at Georgia, it's probably a safe assumption that they made less than this figure. This $43.1 million averages out to about $3.3 million per player, and while some Bulldogs might have made that much there is no way everyone did.
This fact doesn't mean that Kirby Smart and Georgia aren't competitive when it comes to NIL, because they are in fact one of the top programs in the country when it comes to NIL. This $43.1 million however shows that players that come to UGA have a great chance to be rewarded with massive NFL paydays, along with making quite a bit of money while in Athens as well.