Carson Beck transfer: Teams to watch, reported NIL deal amount revealed for Georgia QB

On3’s Pete Nakos broke the news Thursday that Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is expected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. Nakos also revealed for premium On3 members which schools are in the mix for Beck.

Shortly after Nakos’ reporting, ESPN insider Pete Thamel also revealed where the two-time national champion quarterback could land and his potential price tag in NIL.

Thamel listed Miami as the “favorite” to acquire Beck’s services out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, with Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal once again relying on a one-year veteran rental after Cam Ward‘s sensational 2024 season following his transfer from Washington State last offseason.

“My quick brush on making some calls on this today is Miami would loom as the favorite for Carson Beck,” Thamel said on Thursday’s The Pat McAfee Show. “They right now don’t have an incumbent starter at quarterback, Mario Cristobal has shown an affinity, from the success Cam Ward had, to have an established guy come in.”

Beck recently underwent surgery on his injured UCL in his right elbow that he suffered on the last play of the first half of the SEC championship game in early December. Given the injury, Beck was unavailable during Georgia’s College Football Playoff run, missing the Allstate Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame.

Thamel doesn’t expect Beck’s rehab to have any impact on his potential transfer destination, adding Texas Tech is another QB-needy program that could be in the Beck sweepstakes.

“There’s obviously the lingering issue of Beck’s elbow, which would probably cause him to miss part of spring or you’d have to adjust spring around him. That’s not confirmed or done, but if you’re handicapping where he could go, (Miami) would certainly be one of the options,” Thamel added. “Texas Tech has been pushing hard for a starting quarterback as well, so they could loom in the background here too.

“But a healthy Carson Beck would be a top-of-market quarterback. He’s a frontline starter who did not obviously play great this year, but he has first-round talent. There’s a lot of belief in him,” Thamel continued. “So there is a strong talent base there and there will be a market for Carson Beck. Especially with the fact that the quarterback-needy places really need them now, because there won’t be a lot of high-end quarterbacks on the market.”

That market could allow Beck to demand a NIL offer in the $2 million range, according to Thamel.

“We’re at an odd confluence in the market where the places that have large NIL stashes, now basically these guys can double-dip. You can unload all the NIL money you had because you have revenue share money coming. … It’s almost like the market is flooded and guys are getting overpaid,” Thamel added. “So, I would think for Carson Beck, over $2 million would just be my general estimate would be about the market he has. And it’s just exponentially bigger than it was a year ago.”

The former four-star recruit was viewed as a possible first-round NFL Draft prospect entering this season. He struggled at times, throwing for 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions along with 3,485 yards. He threw three interceptions in three different games.

Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.