Carson Beck’s departure from Georgia to Miami this summer created a number of ripple effects as word of his $4 million NIL package helped reset the market once again for quarterbacks.
Word of Beck’s NIL package played a role in Nico Iamaleava attempting to renegotiate his deal with Tennessee, which the Vols balked at and led him in the transfer portal seeking a new deal elsewhere. While that drama goes on at Tennessee, elsewhere in the SEC, Lane Kiffin couldn’t help but poke fun at Beck getting big money from the Canes.
Kiffin was the latest guest on “The Pivot” podcast with Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark and Fred Taylor, and when Crowder and Clark brought up Beck’s NIL package, Kiffin couldn’t resist taking a jab at Beck’s struggles against Ole Miss a year ago.
“Miami gave him $4.3 million? Did they watch his game against us?” Kiffin said with a laugh. “I was trying not to go there, you set me up.”
In the full clip (conversation begins at the 46:30 mark) Kiffin goes on to point out that he doesn’t blame Beck or any player for getting as much money as they can.
“I don’t ever get mad at the kids, it’s not their fault,” Kiffin continued. “The system’s gonna…go get it. It’s free market with no cap and in some areas unlimited boosters. Guy, just go on the yacht and they’ll give you the money.”
Beck was 20-of-31 for 186 yards and an interception in that game against Ole Miss, which the Rebels won 28-10 as the Bulldogs offense led by Beck never got going. While Kiffin’s comments may have been a bit out of pocket, he was not alone in having those general thoughts.
Coming into the season, Beck was expected to cement himself as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but a midseason stretch of 12 interceptions in six games (including that Ole Miss performance) effectively ended any Draft buzz on him. While he bounced back against lesser competition late in the year, he never got a real opportunity to prove that to be real after getting hurt just 13 passes into the SEC title game against Texas.
Now Beck will look to prove his value again to teams at the NFL level with the Hurricanes in 2025, but the pressure will be even greater than looking to secure a high draft pick. His NIL deal has become the talk of the college football world, and after resetting the market, fans and teams outside of Miami will be eager to point to him as a cautionary tale of spending in the NIL era if he stumbles at all.
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