Could Quinn Ewers' draft slide convince more QBs to stay in school?

Shedeur Sanders wasn't the only high-profile quarterback who fell during the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay. 

Texas QB Quinn Ewers plummeted to the seventh round, where the Miami Dolphins selected him with pick No. 231. NFL Mock Draft Database projected him as a fourth-rounder. 

Spotrac estimates he will sign a four-year, $4.33M deal, which isn't chump change. However, he may have made more if he had hit the transfer portal.

"If Carson Beck — coming off a shoulder injury and without much of a spring to get up to speed with his new team and offense — got more than $3M from Miami, Ewers was probably in line to get more," wrote The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.

A contingent of the Texas fan base may have clamored for Arch Manning throughout the 2024 season, but Ewers was no slouch.

In three seasons at Texas, he guided the team to two College Football Playoff appearances and threw the third-most touchdown passes (68) in school history. 

Unsurprisingly, many programs were reportedly trying to convince him to leave Texas. In January, 247 Sports' Chip Brown reported the 22-year-old rejected an $8M NIL (name, image and likeness) deal from another school. Ewers has already made plenty of cash, though.

"He racked up double-digit NIL deals during his three years at Texas, including a national Dr Pepper commercial, the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, New Era, Lucchese and even one with a private jet company," wrote The Athletic's Sam Khan Jr. in a roundtable published Sunday.

Still, if Ewers went to another school, that may have raised his draft stock. QB Cam Ward, whom the Tennessee Titans selected with the No. 1 pick in the draft, transferred from Washington State to Miami in 2024, winning the Davey O'Brien Award as college football's best QB. 

Ewers may feel he didn't make the wrong choice, but future QBs in a similar situation should weigh all options before entering the draft. They want to make the football and financial decisions that are best for them.