Cooper Manning addresses Arch's future at Texas, disputes 'BS' NIL reports

When Arch Manning committed to Texas, there was plenty of fanfare. It’s understandable considering he’s the grandson of Archie and nephew of Peyton and Eli, but the plan was for him to be in a reserve role as a freshman behind Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy.

As Manning prepares to serve as Texas’ primary backup in the Sugar Bowl, speculation is swirling that Ewers could return to Austin for another season. Murphy, meanwhile, left for Duke via the transfer portal — meaning Manning could be Ewers’ primary backup in 2024 if he comes back.

According to his dad, Cooper, Manning is quite happy with the Longhorns. He also saw the hero’s welcome Arch got when he came in to relieve Ewers during the regular season finale against Texas Tech in his collegiate debut.

“We’ll handle that after (Quinn) makes the decision,” Cooper Manning told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. “I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about things that I can’t control and haven’t happened yet. Arch loves his teammates. He’s got great relationships. He’s a really happy college student. He loves Texas. You got a sense when he went in that (Texas) Tech game that fans are excited about him being their quarterback one day.”

Arch Manning shot down the idea of transferring during his first media session with reporters on Saturday. He made it clear he’s happy with Texas and “hasn’t looked into transferring at all,” in his words.

During his short time with the Longhorns, though, rumors and reports swirled about the impact NIL had on Manning’s freshman season. One report said he had earned millions of dollars while at Texas. So far, though, his only deal is with Panini America.

As for whether Arch has made the millions of dollars some reported, Cooper Manning made it clear that’s not the case.

“All this NIL stuff is BS. People just make up numbers,” Cooper Manning said. “Don’t believe what you read.”

About Arch Manning’s On3 NIL Valuation

Arch Manning is one of the highest-profile players in college football. He enters Monday’s Sugar Bowl with an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.8 million, which ranks No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100 and No. 2 in the On3 College Football NIL Rank behind Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. The On3 NIL 100 is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.