Speculations were at an all-time high on whether USC QB Jayden Maiava would stay with the program or enter the 2026 NFL draft. Now, the QB1 has officially made a final decision on the issue. It accompanies the news of the Trojans’ kicker returning for another season in 2026.

“Jayden Maiava has re-signed with the USC Trojans,” wrote USC’s X account. The account posted a picture of $2.1 million valued Maiava in the Trojans’ gear, officially signing a contract to stay with the program. Lincoln Riley also brings back the redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri, who was crucial for the team in 2025. Sayeri has compiled an 81% field goal efficiency this season and has accumulated 98 points for the team.

The 5’11” and 180 lbs kicker joined the team in the 2024 season and redshirted through the year. The program posted about the kicker’s coming back, posting a picture of him signing a contract. “It’s good, resigned,” USC’s IG post reads. Lincoln Riley has several players departing this year, and that makes retaining players more important.

So far, the program has brought back Waymond Jordan and Braylan Shelby. The team announced the players’ resigning with the team on Saturday. Apart from them, Riley has also retained Christian Pierce, Jadyn Walker, and Marcelles Williams. The retentions are especially important since Lincoln Riley is losing WR Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, and TE Lake McRee. All three have been the engine of the offense, and thus keeping Jayden Maiava was crucial for the head coach.

“He grew a lot. Growing as a leader. Growing in his ability to manage the game, to understand how we’re being attacked and how we want to attack, understanding of the offense, just all of it. It’s a good room…He did a lot of great things,” said Lincoln Riley about his QB1 recently. The talent does show on the field.

This year, Jayden has passed for 3,431 yards at a decent 66.2% efficeincy for 23 touchdowns. The Hawaii native also rushed for another 150 yards and scored 6 touchdowns on the ground. Although the junior looked shaky in games like Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Oregon, his performance against a ranked Illinois and Michigan was dominant. The QB earned a 90.5 QB rating against Michigan and was graded 87.6 against Illinois. Coming back for his last season, expect Raioa to finally dominate in the 2026 season.

Something unique is brewing in the USC Trojans’ camp

There’s something unseen happening in USC now. If you open USC’s social media handles, you would find the program announcing the “re-signing” of every player. The program announced Zacharyus Williams’ re-signing, along with Killian O’Connor’s announcement of coming back. That’s not what typically CFB programs do. USC’s deeds then feel more like NFL free agency announcements than what CFB is used to. But it’s a change many teams will follow suit.

But it’s not for show. There’s a major change where players can be seen signing contracts. That surely is merited considering NIL deals and revenue sharing are now involved; still, it’s new. “By making these posts, USC shows it is not just keeping up with the curve of how college football teams think about their free agents; they are ahead of the curve,” wrote Ethan Inman of the Trojans’ wire.

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Players are now earning in seven and eight-figure deals, excluding revenue-sharing deals. Factor in that too, and the sum would exceed contracts signed by NFL rookies. Recently, Jeremiah Smith’s NIL value exceeded that of his former OSU counterpart and prolific NFL WR, Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Lincoln Riley is just adapting to the changing times by advertising the same. It’s a welcome move and will be something we would see from other programs, too.