Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis is the top ranked recruit in Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class. Not only is he the best player in Georgia’s class, but the 247Sports composite rankings have Curtis as the No. 1 QB in the country.
Most college football fans assume Georgia had to pay Curtis a lot of money to earn his commitment. While that is the case, the reported amount he will make in his first year at Georgia is much lower than other top QBs are getting at other schools.
Georgia Five-Star Plus+ QB commit Jared Curtis is expected to make north of $750,000 in year one of his deal, @PeteNakos_ reports🐶
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 23, 2025

More recruits: https://t.co/wFcAmj8wIq https://t.co/GDKqvDQDgj pic.twitter.com/FRtG5xLvfb
Georgia got Jared Curtis to commit to UGA with a cheap NIL deal
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Curtis will make $750,000 during his true freshman season at Georgia in 2026. That clearly is a lot of money, especially for someone who likely won’t play all that much during the 2026 season, but this NIL deal is a steal for Georgia.
As mentioned, Curtis is the No. 1 quarterback in the country, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Georgia had to pay Curtis a large amount to come to Athens. But comparing this deal to other quarterback deals it’s easy to see how favorable this is for Georgia.
The No. 1 QB in the 2025 recruiting class is Bryce Underwood who is gearing up for his freshman season at Michigan this fall. Underwood’s NIL deal however will reportedly pay him an average of $2.65 million per year. Now that is quite the drop off from the $750,000 Curtis will make next season at Georgia.
Curtis’s NIL deal likely will increase throughout the years at Georgia, especially once he eventually is named the starting QB. But Georgia was able to get Curtis to commit to UGA on a team friendly deal which is exactly how Kirby Smart wants to operate in the NIL recruiting space.