It’s honestly quite absurd to think about, but Ty Simpson is basically turning his nose away from a mountain of easy cash just to suit up for the Los Angeles Rams. Even though he just went 13th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft today, he’s quite literally taking a hefty “pay cut” right out of the gate just to be a pro. All thanks to Nick Saban.

The Miami University was desperate for an S-tier gunslinger for the upcoming season after Carson Beck ran out of eligibility. According to Ty Simpson himself, they were ready to pay a premium: $6.5 million we are talking about. That would’ve made him the highest-paid athlete, not just in the college football realm, but in all of the NCAA.

See, if he had stayed in school and taken the monster transfer deal waiting for him at Miami, he would’ve bagged generational NIL money for just one season. Instead, according to Spotrac’s 2026 draft rookie contract, his NFL rookie salary is slotted at about $4.6 million. That means he already said adios to that $1.9 million this year.

This whole situation came to a head because Simpson went to his legendary former coach, Nick Saban, for some much-needed perspective on the future. Instead of getting bogged down in spreadsheets or tax brackets, Saban stripped the decision down to its core by asking Simpson to ignore the money and the draft projections for just a second.

Saban reportedly asked him two questions: Do you want to play college or professional football next year? Or take the money and the draft rounds out of it? What do you want to do?

Simpson realized he was ready for the big leagues. Saban reminded him that getting his professional clock started a year earlier is a crazy advantage.

Truth be told, he might be losing almost $2 million this year. Ty is going to do himself a favour in the long run. The Rams are still locking him down with a four-year deal worth more than $25.4 million. The best part? Every single cent of that is fully guaranteed. Not to mention, he got a bit lucky with his pick.

The former 5-star got into the best program any QB prospect would beg for, learning from the reigning MVP, Matthew Stafford himself.

Even though the Rams likely could have gotten him in the second round, they didn’t want to take any chances or risk losing him. The Rams see Ty as the apparent heir to Matthew Stafford. The Rams’ head coach hinted that Stafford’s contract might be on a year-to-year basis. Give or take, Stafford’s already pushing 39, more or less another 2 to 3 years of high-level football left. So why not go get the gunslinger who made one of the biggest jumps in the class outside of Mendoza?

Ty Simpson winning in the long game

The real genius here is that Ty is playing the “long game” with his career. By jumping into the league now, he hits his second contract (the one where the real, life-changing money lives) an entire year earlier. In today’s NFL, a top-tier quarterback can easily pull in somewhere from $40 or $60 million a year on that second deal.

If you still have doubts and think he should’ve stuck in college, just think about the upside he has. Despite sitting almost 3 years behind the likes of Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe, Ty came out and balled like the second coming of Mac Jones, until injuries here and there slowed him a bit. He threw 28 touchdowns and just 6 picks. So judging based on his potential, he’s more definitely going to be a starter in the league if he gets coached the right way once Stafford retires.

He chose the harder path by leaving the college bubble early, but he did it with the ultimate “stamp of approval” from Saban. So, when you look at it that way, giving up $1.9 million today is just a small “cover charge” to get to that quarter-billion-dollar jackpot a year sooner rather later. He’s betting that his 26-year-old self will be very, very happy that his 22-year-old self didn’t get distracted by one year of his college cash.