Archie Manning won't let Arch Manning take NIL money until he starts, Steve Sarkisian says

There's a certain website out there that will tell you Arch Manning's NIL value fell by more than $300,000 following Texas's spring game.  

It didn't matter that he was an early enrollee who could've remained shrouded in mystery and intrigue at Isidore Newman for another month, had he so desired. It didn't matter that he was playing behind a mishmash line and throwing to primarily freshmen, backups and walk-ons. He didn't win the QB1 job at his first opportunity, and so therefore he was a bust.

That's the line many in the online media wanted to sell after Manning's first public showcase, even one that meant nothing. And that will be life for Arch for as long as he's in college: he'll either be the biggest bust in football history or the most sure-fire, can't-miss prospect since Uncle Peyton, without a drop of nuance in between. 

Manning did come away entrenched as Texas's third quarterback for the 2023 campaign. Incumbent Quinn Ewers strengthened his hold on the position in the spring, and redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy (9-of-13 for 165 yards and a touchdown) established himself as his backup. 

But the idea that Manning's NIL value dropped was completely made up. It was made up in the practical sense in that the metric the site used to "establish" the "value" was pulled out of thin air. But it was made up in the literal sense because Arch's NIL value is zero.

Grandpa Archie says so.

“The beauty of it for us, his NIL value — whatever it is — his grandpa (Archie) won’t let him take any NIL money,” Sarkisian told fans at a Houston Touchdown Club luncheon on Wednesday. “He said, ‘You can take money when you become a player and you start.'”

Sarkisian said that he got a text from Cooper Manning after Arch committed that said, “If there’s a message to tell any of the other recruits who you’re recruiting is that Arch Manning is coming to Texas because he loves the University of Texas. He loves the coaches and he loves the program. This is not about NIL. He’s taken zero money from an NIL perspective.”

Make no mistake: the Mannings are capitalists. Arch chose Texas because he believes it's his best path to making hundreds of millions of dollars -- in due time. The real pay day is not a 7-figure NIL deal sprung by a starting job in 2023, it's a 9-figure extension signed circa 2029. 

Arch will likely take a 7-figure deal once he becomes a college starter, but not until then. Grandpa's orders.