New intel emerges that explains how Georgia lost Jared Curtis's recruitment

It's been a few months since five-star quarterback Jared Curtis broke Georgia's heart. Everyone knows that Curtis ditched Georgia in favor of Vanderbilt in December, and many knew this decision had to do with NIL money.

But the exact reason (or amount of NIL money) it took to steal Curtis was never made public until On3 released some shocking intel about his recruitment on Wednesday.

On3 explains how Georgia lost Jared Curtis

On3 shared on Wednesday that Curtis is one of three recruits who was paid the most money in the 2026 recruiting class. That number, according to On3, came in north of $1.5 million. That is an absurd amount of money that arguably no true freshman is worth, but Vanderbilt felt Curtis was worth every penny.

Georgia made a very competitive NIL offer to Curtis. That is why Curtis committed to Georgia for a second time after he originally decommitted in 2024. But that offer was reported to be just shy of $1 million for his freshman season, so Vanderbilt's offer was much higher than Georgia was willing to pay.

Could Georgia have afforded to pay Curtis more? Absolutely they could have, but that goes against Kirby Smart's NIL philosophy. Smart has said countless times that he isn't willing to overspend for any unproven player, so there was never a scenario where Georgia would've been willing to match Vanderbilt's offer.

The Bulldogs will be just fine without Curtis because they still signed one of the top recruiting classes in the country. They also added Bryson Beaver through the Transfer Portal from Oregon who was the No. 12 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class.

So Georgia is going to be just fine moving forward, and they now get to look forward to getting some revenge this season when Vanderbilt and Curtis come to Athens on Oct. 3.