Fernando Mendoza turned down an offer for approximately $3 million from Miami to play for the Indiana Hoosiers. It worked out for the quarterback, winning the Heisman Trophy and the national championship before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. While many college quarterbacks follow the money, some are more worried about preparing for the next level.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita chose loyalty over money in the offseason. In an interview with Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports, Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege claimed another college football program tampered with Fifita, offering him a $3.5 million deal, but the quarterback wanted to run it back with the Wildcats. More News: Kirk Herbstreit Calls Out Notre Dame for ‘Embarrassing’ Schedule More News: Three Teams That Can Win the Big 12 "There's no doubt he's the best quarterback in the league, so people are hitting this guy up to tamper, to say, 'Hey, we'll pay you $3.5 million to come play for a year," Doege said.
When you go 9-4 on a team that was picked dead last in the Big 12, now all the coaches are getting hit up (for new jobs). "So I sat him down and said, 'Dude, what is your plan? Man to man, brother to brother, you know there's real love here.
Because if you're leaving, I need to think about what I need to do. But if you're staying, I'm with you. And then he said the exact same thing, and that was that." Fifita, a five-foot-10, 190-pound quarterback from Huntington Beach, California, threw for 3,228 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions last season.
He added another 216 yards and three scores on the ground. Fifita's loyalty to Arizona is courageous, as the young quarterback isn't guaranteed to be a draft pick in 2027. The young quarterback has made money during his time with Arizona.
Per On3, he has an NIL valuation of $2 million, but that's significantly less than what he could have been making at a rival school this fall. For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
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