How fast the night changes in college football. Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer had a steady start in the first three weeks of the 2025 season after coming up with 944 passing yards and five touchdowns. In mid-September, On3’s Pete Nakos predicted Mateer would make between $2.5 million and $3 million in NIL payments this season. A month later, Mateer is standing here, grappling with a $550k loss in the NIL front. 

As per On3’s NIL Valuations, Mateer’s valuation declined by a whopping $547,000 to $2.6 million. Given the current standing, the Oklahoma quarterback is at No. 10, while Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier come before him. But it’s a surprising drop in performance. 

Back in August, Mateer signed a deal with Beats by Dre. The brand announced its third class for ‘Beats Elite’, which featured the Oklahoma quarterback, Underwood, and Caleb Downs. 

However, Mateer did not enjoy the fame by himself. He returned the favor to his teammates and gained Jim Nagy’s appreciation. The Sooners quarterback arranged for a special headphones delivery from the brand after the practice. A carriage came rolling down the gridiron carrying the gift. What made Mateer lose his footing in the NIL even after so much fame?

It took one game against the Texas Longhorns to slide down the rankings. The Sooners fell prey to a 23-6 loss from Steve Sarkisian’s boys. Mateer connected on 20 of 38 pass attempts for a season low 52.6% in that game. The quarterback’s weaknesses got exposed with his 202 yards and 5.3 yards per attempt, both of which were the season lows. That’s not it. Here came the most worrisome part of Mateer’s feat against Texas.

The Oklahoma quarterback turned into an interception magnet. Mateer added three interceptions to his name during the Longhorns’ face-off. At 3:37 in the first quarter, the quarterback tossed his first interception, the start of what became a night to forget. Hardly did fans expect this to be just the beginning of Mateer’s faulty feat. Another pick followed before halftime, and the final interception sealed the tale with 13:40 left on the clock.

Who would have thought a Heisman campaign running quarterback like Mateer would go down the rabbit hole? That’s when Brent Venables was held accountable. But why? 

John Mateer brings major regret for Brent Venables

The Oklahoma head coach is blamed for taking a risk and making Mateer play against Texas, who was still recovering from hand surgery. Until the last minute, the Sooners fans stayed in the dark regarding Mateer’s availability for the Texas game; he went from being “questionable” to “probable.” But in the end, they deemed him fit. 

However, all this while, Venables confidently pushed Mateer to make a comeback on Saturday, confirming the quarterback would have “no limitations.” It automatically turned out to be one of the biggest blunders. Therefore, Venables’ own staffer and Mateer’s confidant accepted this. 

Notably, Ben Arbuckle worked with the quarterback at Washington State. The duo together boarded the Oklahoma wagon. However, the Sooners’ Oklahoma OC did not find fault in Brent Venables’ strategy. As George Stoia III reported, “Ben Arbuckle says John Mateer had good physical and mental reps in practice this week. Says that he felt good about him playing in the game. Says he just wasn’t very accurate and made some bad decisions. #Sooners.”

Not just the coach, even the Oklahoma players and Mateer’s mate blamed themselves. As Parker Thune reported, “A concise and apt summary of the #Sooners’ Red River Shootout loss, courtesy of junior safety Peyton Bowen…Nobody played their best game, and a lot of people played their worst game.”

It’s not that John Mateer stumbled alone. The statistics tell the story: Brent Venables’ running backs ran the ball only 14 times during the game. Their offensive line struggled, with tight ends failing to block successfully. But when the topic shifts to his NIL struggles, Mateer stands alone in the storm.