Georgia will enter the 2026 season as one of the favorites to win a National Championship. That has been the case each of the last three years, but the Bulldogs have failed to even win a playoff game during that time.
But there is a great chance that will change this season, thanks to the season altering decision that Gunner Stockton made,
Gunner Stockton is playing chess while the rest of the country plays checkers
Stockton is entering his second season as Georgia's full time starting quarterback. He is coming of a very strong season in 2025 that included winning 12 games and an SEC Championship. His play alone is a big reason why Georgia could win it all next season, but his NIL decision off the field is arguably the biggest reason why Georgia could win a National Championship later this year.
After the season ended players around the country were signing new NIL deals. Even certain players at Gerogia were inking new deals. But not Stockton, he chose to let "free agency" play out so he wasn't a distraction to Georgia's coaching staff. He also wanted UGA to use as much money as they possibly could to make the team around him better, and that is exactly what they did.
And now that the Transfer Portal madness is mostly concluded, Stockton finally went to negotiate his new NIL deal. But his deal would make any hungry entrepreneur shudder because he signed a deal worth two to three times less than what he could've made.
Why did he do this? Because he wanted Kirby Smart and his staff to use that extra money elsewhere to make the team around him better.
So while Stockton's on field abilities are good enough to lead Georgia to a National Championship in the fall, this decision to take less NIL money is the biggest reason why they could win a national title this year.