College football is in a different era with NIL looming large, and former Vanderbilt star Diego Pavia is detailing the incredible amount of money he made.
The Commodores quarterback helped make the SEC program relevant for the first time in decades. However, the team’s on-field success can be traced back to the size of Pavia’s bank account.
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Pavia reveals that his transfer from New Mexico State to Vanderbilt proved to be quite lucrative. The successful quarterback joined Vandy in 2024 after spending four seasons with New Mexico Military and the Aggies.
“My first year I was making $1,400 a month. My TE was making $3,000. … I was pissed,” Pavia said on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast.
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Pavia’s current professional situation is ambiguous after he was cut by the Baltimore Ravens. However, his NFL future isn’t the talking point after fans learned how much he earned at Vanderbilt.
Pavia detailed with Taylor Lewan and Will Compton that his earnings skyrocketed after arriving in the SEC. His NIL payments went from nearly $1,400 monthly to roughly $150,000 after joining the Commodores.
Various outlets, including On3, previously estimated that Pavia made over $2 million while playing for Vanderbilt. Pavia’s claim of making $150,000 would put him in that range at about $1.8 million annually.
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The Heisman Trophy runner-up is just one of many college athletes benefiting greatly from NIL payments. Last season, Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State and Arch Manning of Texas each made over $3.5 million.
Meanwhile, the top 10 NIL players in college football all exceeded $2 million or greater. It’s clear that those payments are only increasing as schools and boosters continue to put more money toward their programs.
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