Top recruit who spurned Georgia is getting a major freshman year payday

Money has always dominated college football recruiting, but now that it’s legal through revenue-share payments and NIL collectives, the paydays just keep getting bigger for the best high school players in the country. Sometimes that means even Georgia gets outpriced, at least that was the case for LaDamion Guyton. 

Guyton is the No. 2 player in the 2027 class, and on Thursday, the bonafide five-star edge rusher chose the Texas Tech Red Raiders over Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It’s not often that the SEC gets outdone on the recruiting trail, but the oil money in Lubbock is flowing freely, and barons like Cody Campbell are sparing no expense to turn the Red Raiders into a national title contender. 

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Savannah, Georgia, native reportedly received a $3.5 million NIL package to commit to Texas Tech, and while his freshman season is still a few years away, he will reportedly receive $900,000 that season alone. 

Georgia shouldn’t have been willing to pay Texas Tech’s price for LaDamion Guyton

Guyton is a talented recruit and should maintain his spot near the top of the 2027 class. He’ll likely be an impactful edge rusher at the next level and eventually in the NFL. However, a $900,000 deal for his freshman season is an investment that Georgia should not have been willing to match. 

There’s a reason that Texas Tech has become the biggest spender of the NIL era, aside from the oil money in West Texas. It’s because that program has to significantly outspend the traditional national powerhouses to recruit anywhere near their level. Texas Tech does not have the facilities or the exposure of a school like Georgia, and the Big 12 is a meaningfully lower level of competition than the SEC. So, the Red Raiders have to pay a significant premium to win big-time recruiting battles. 

Texas Tech spent most of its money in the transfer portal this offseason and landed the No. 1 transfer class in the country. However, on the recruiting trail, even with five-star Felix Ojo headlining the group, Joey McGuire’s program still ranks just 26th nationally while being the biggest spender in the sport. 

Edge rusher is not nearly as volatile a position as quarterback, where big-money freshmen are always a risk. Still, it doesn’t carry as high a hit rate as the offensive line, where the greatest percentage of top recruits develop into stars of any position on the field. There is a risk that Guyton isn’t a player who contributes to winning, at least not early in his career when he’s already carrying a hefty price tag. 

For a program like Georgia, it doesn’t make sense to match Texas Tech’s price because that $900,000 can be better allocated across the rest of the roster, especially with revenue-sharing rules making some efforts to curtail unlimited spending. 

It stings to see a player like Guyton plucked out of the state, but Georgia is better off not paying such a steep price because that money is freed up to invest in multiple other players. Texas Tech has to take big swings on the select few elite prospects willing to take the money to play in Lubbock. 

Georgia can get itself into the mix for nearly every elite guy in the class, giving itself more opportunities to find a star and providing ample insurance in case a five-star never develops at the college level.