Bengals QB Joe Burrow to recruits: 'Go wherever they are paying you the most'

Joe Burrow is one of the most notable college football players to take advantage of the transfer portal. The quarterback transferred from Ohio State to LSU in 2018, going on to win a national championship and a Heisman Trophy.

Burrow wasn’t in college when athletes were able to start profiting off their name, image and likeness. But if he had, Burrow would have been one of the most marketable in college sports on LSU’s run to its 2019 national title.

Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback advised high school recruits to take advantage of whatever financial opportunities are presented.

“If you’re going to be able to make seven figures in college, you got to go take advantage of that,” Burrow said. “If you’re in high school and you’re getting offered that, go wherever they are paying you the most.”

Since NIL started in the summer of 2021, booster-funded collectives have sprung up and become integral in retaining and attracting talent in college football and basketball. At the quarterback position, Miami’s Carson Beck, Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Duke’s Darian Mensah are all expected to make over $3 million in 2025.

Joe Burrow admitted he would have transferred out of Ohio State earlier if transferring was as easy as it now is. He won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award on Thursday night. Now a two-time recipient of the award, he led the NFL in passing yards (4,918) and passing touchdowns (43) in 2024 after undergoing season-ending surgery on the scapholunate ligament in his right wrist in November of 2023.

“I probably would have transferred much earlier than I did, but I had to graduate to go and play,” the former LSU quarterback said. “At the time, the transfer portal wasn’t a thing. I think it became a thing the next year after I transferred, but I still think you had to sit out a year.”