Updated Saturday, September 5, 2026, ahead of Manning’s second season as the Texas starter. This page updates when new deals are announced.
Arch Manning is the most marketable player in college football and, by his own choice, not one of the 15 highest paid. Those two facts explain everything about his NIL situation. He earns more from national brands than any other college player, and he took a reduced share of Texas’ revenue sharing pool for 2026 so the Longhorns could spend on the roster around him.
| Brand | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Red Bull | Energy drink | His signature national deal; Sarkisian compares it to Quinn Ewers and Dr Pepper |
| Topps | Trading cards, autographs | Exclusive deal announced September 3, 2026; first autographs in Bowman Football this fall. Replaces his Panini America deal |
| Google Gemini | Tech | Added March 2026; ad campaign aimed at students |
| Uber and Waymo | Rideshare | |
| Warby Parker | Eyewear | |
| Vuori | Apparel | Signed spring 2025 ahead of his first season as QB1 |
| Raising Cane’s | Restaurant | |
| EA Sports | Video games | College Football video game partnership |
| Panini America | Trading cards (former) | His first NIL deal at Texas, expanded to memorabilia in 2025, now superseded by Topps |
What He Actually Earns
Opendorse, which tracks real NIL transactions, told the Houston Chronicle that Manning’s verified deals in 2025 totaled at least $3,537,808. The average SEC starting quarterback that year earned about $900,000 from revenue sharing and NIL combined, so Manning made nearly four times the position average from endorsements alone. Opendorse co founder Blake Lawrence called starting quarterback at Texas the most valuable position in college sports: the biggest market without a pro team, the biggest athletic budget, and a national brand.
Some outlets have reported his 2025 total above $6 million once every revenue source is included. Those figures are not verified the way the Opendorse number is.
The Two Valuations, Explained
Under On3’s old algorithm, which estimated marketing value, Manning peaked at $6.8 million and was the highest valued athlete in any college sport. On July 1, 2026, On3 switched to a deal based model that counts only what a school or collective pays. On that measure Manning is at $2.5 million, 19th in football, behind players like Drew Mestemaker and Mason Heintschel whose money is almost entirely from their programs. The full list is on our highest NIL valuations page.
Why He Took Less From Texas
In December 2025, Inside Texas reported Manning would take a reduced share of the Longhorns’ football revenue sharing pool for 2026. Texas needed to rebuild the offensive line, keep Trevor Goosby out of the NFL draft and pay for portal additions like receiver Cam Coleman. Steve Sarkisian later put it plainly: Manning could have asked for six or seven million, and the difference was an extra five million to spend on Coleman and others. His brand deals were not affected; only his cut of the school’s pool changed. It is the same approach Quinn Ewers took before him, and Sarkisian credits both families for understanding that the Texas quarterback will get his money from national brands regardless.
The Bottom Line
Arch Manning earns more from endorsements than any player in college football, at least $3.5 million in verified 2025 deals with Red Bull, Uber, Vuori, Warby Parker, Raising Cane’s, EA Sports, Google Gemini and now Topps. His $2.5 million school valuation looks low only because he chose to take less from Texas so the roster could get better. See how that roster stacks up on our most expensive rosters page.