Quinn Ewers sat in a cafe surrounded by family and friends, waiting for his name to be called. And after a couple of days more than expected, he received the life-changing call on Saturday. As he hung up, wiping off tears from his face, his entire family gave him a big hug. The Miami Dolphins selected the Texas Longhorns QB as the 231st pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. But for Ewers, instead of this being a euphoric moment, it felt like hitting rock bottom, after soaring high.

The Texan entered Ohio State in 2021 as a 5-star-plus recruit out of Southlake. He then transferred to the Longhorns, a program he had grown up watching, supporting, and dreaming to play for. With a legacy collegiate career where he took Texas to two back-to-back NCAA Semifinals, many touted him to be a third- or fourth-day pick, at least not the seventh. But while his arm strength, quick release, touch, toughness and poise added to his pros, his injuries in all three years at Texas, deep-ball accuracy, and at times questionable pocket awareness left a bad taste. Now with him being a last day pick and going to Miami where Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson are already before him, his chances of becoming a QB1 might be lower than ever. But that’s not the only thing that got affected by the draft slide. Let’s understand what really happened.

Ewers returning to Austin for his final year of eligibility would not have been the case with the Longhorns beginning their Arch Manning era. This left him with two choices– Enter the transfer portal, or go pro. Now we know he chose the latter because, as Inside Texas’ Joe Cook wrote this Sunday, “There were two words he wanted to hear when national television announced the Miami Dolphins’ seventh-round pick – ‘Quarterback. Texas.’” But if he would have chosen the first option, it would have been much more beneficial for the rookie, at least for his bank account.

News and media website Football Forever’s Instagram account relayed a huge revelation stemming from Quinn Ewers sliding all the way to round 7 to their 400k followers: “Back in January, Quinn Ewers turned down an $8M NIL transfer offer and decided to enter the 2025 NFL Draft…[he] is projected to sign a four-year deal worth less than $1M per year, according to Spotrac. Ewers left roughly $7M on the table by not playing one more year of college football.” Ouch.

The worst part about this isn’t the fact that Ewers’ tryst with taking a chance on himself backfired, it’s the possibility that he never really makes up for the money he left behind. Reportedly, Ewers will sign a $4.3 million/ four years. Per Football Forever, he is bound to make $0.8M in his first year, which would mean by giving up the $8M as the NIL transfer portal money, Ewers comes down to a $7.2M loss.

Now he can make up for it later, but getting a second contract in the NFL is tough. More so when you’re coming in as a backup who, in theory, won’t get enough reps to prove his worth. But there will be opportunities for the QB to make his name– the training camp and the preseason.

Tagovailoa’s injury in 2024 and subpar performances from backup QBs Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley, ended the Dolphins’ season with an 8-9 record and missed playoffs. Now they did prioritize the backup QB by bringing in former first-rounder Zac Wilson this offseason on a one-year contract and he would be expected to be the primary back up after Tua. But it does leave the door open for Ewers.

To borrow a Charles Barkley analogy for Kevin Durant, there are two kinds of players: bus riders and bus drivers. Trucks and trailers, if you will. To thrive as a quarterback in the NFL, you’ve got to be a force multiplier, elevating the performance of the supporting cast around them.

Quinn Ewers had some of the best receiving corps in the country over his 3 years at Texas. The likes of Xavier Worthy and Matthew Golden, who were first-round picks in back-to-back years, are a testament to this. But even with these weapons, Ewers didn’t quite go nuclear. In fact, some of a burnt orange persuasion will tell you he even weighed them down. But the hopes are still high, at least where his girlfriend stands.

Quinn Ewers’ girlfriend offers solace and warns the NFL of what’s coming

A slightly morbid, twisted novelty of the draft is such that players are basically waiting on 32 different trajectories for their lives. Where they end up going alters their path not just professionally but personally. Different cities, different cultures and different people to surround yourself with. That also applies to WAGs. Now, Quinn Ewers’ girlfriend, Maddy Barnes, probably doesn’t mind her boyfriend’s base being Vice City. But she’s still one with how he slid all the way to pick 231 and its repercussions. She offered him some solace through motivation that doubled as a warning to the league that passed on him 230 times.

“MIAMI BABY!!💙 TIME TO PROVE EM WRONG,” wrote Maddy Barnes on her IG story while also writing a heartfelt post. “So incredibly proud and overjoyed!! Quinn, you are so deserving of this and a whole lot more! You’re the most driven, dedicated, and genuine man both on and off the field. I’m so excited for this journey and to watch you live out your dreams. GO DOLPHINS!!🐬🧡 Miami ain’t ready👏🏻😎💃🏻,” she captioned a post with a picture of the couple embracing.

Quinn Ewers will hope he gets an opportunity to show he’s better than what he’s been deemed. Nobody wishes ill on anybody. However, it is noteworthy that QB1 Tua Tagovailoa has a precedent of missing games due to injuries and concussions. In the scenario, Ewers needs to fill in, he’d have to take some real strides. His career isn’t doomed; he’s just starting 10 steps behind what he ideally would’ve wanted to. But hey, the only way from here is up.