While the Alabama Crimson Tide are still licking their wounds from their 38-3 defeat to No. 1 Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal round, their starting quarterback has a big career decision to make.
Ty Simpson had a successful first year as Alabama’s starter, passing for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just five interceptions while completing 64.5% of his passes and leading the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record, SEC Championship Game appearance, and a CFP win over No. 8 Oklahoma in the opening round.
Because of his success, Simpson has a number of options in front of him.
He could declare for the 2026 NFL draft and turn pro. Simpson was considered a potential first-round pick just a few weeks ago, but his stock took a bit of a hit with Alabama losing twice in three games to Georgia and Indiana to close out the season.
He could stay another year at Alabama and take another shot at winning a national championship, though some Tide fans have already started calling for five-star freshman Keelon Russell to start taking first-tea reps.
He could also enter the transfer portal and play for another potential CFP team next year. Tom Loy of 247Sports reported that if Simpson doesn’t get a first-round grade for the draft, he could hit the portal, where Tennessee and Oregon could compete for his services.
If Simpson did go the transfer route, he could earn quite a bit more NIL money than he’s making now, according to On3’s Andy Staples.
“An experienced, successful college QB playing at a major power conference program should expect at least $2 million,” Staples wrote. “But a top-shelf QB who took a team to the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff — despite his team having little to no run game — probably would command at least $2.5 million and possibly significantly more.
“Depending on how many bidders might be in the market, that figure could push toward $4 million.”
That number would put Simpson a shade below newly signed Texas Tech transfer QB Brendan Sorsby, who is reportedly getting $5 million from the Red Raiders.
Simpson currently ranks 19th in the NCAA in NIL valuation ($2.1 million), according to On3’s NIL valuation. If Staples’ report is true, the 23-year-old signal-caller could potentially earn double what he’s making now at Alabama.
Staples also pointed out that if Simpson were to slip to the early second round of the 2026 draft — a spot many analysts have said is about where he should fall — his first-year NFL salary would be between $2 million and $2.3 million, meaning the smart move for Simpson might be to explore the transfer route.