Where does Garrett Nussmeier's NIL package stack up among SEC quarterbacks?

In the new world of NIL and player compensation, official detailed college football roster budgets aren't readily available to the public. But, On3's Pete Nakos gave us a look behind the curtain with his list of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the country.

Nakos reports that north of 20 quarterbacks are set to make at least $1 million this season. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier is one of them. Furthermore, five QBs will make $3 million or more.

In the SEC, Oklahoma's John Mateer leads the pack with an NIL valuation of $2.5 million. Nussmeier ranks fourth in the league with $1.6 million. Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia ($2 million) and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers ($1.8 million) are both ahead of Nussmeier.

LSU's NIL package helped keep Nussmeier in Baton Rouge

Bringing back Nussmeier was priority No. 1 for Kelly and his staff this past offseason. After a strong 2024 campaign that saw him rank fifth in the country with 4,052 passing yards, Nussmeier was drawing plenty of attention from NFL scouts.

After weighing his options, the veteran gunslinger chose to come back to Baton Rouge for a fifth season. The experience he brings is invaluable, but Nakos reports that Nussmeier will be the fourth-highest paid QB in the SEC this season.

Nussmeier's bill is just part of the puzzle for LSU's NIL landscape. In his first radio show of the season, Brian Kelly said that LSU spent around $18 million to construct its 2025 roster. That's more than triple what the program spent last season. The massive bump in roster bill signals high expectations for Kelly and company this season.

Following the 2024 season, Kelly and LSU needed to improve its NIL support if the program was going to attract top talent in the transfer portal. In turn, the program revamped its NIL efforts and landed a top-ten high school recruiting class as well as the top transfer portal class in the country. They also brought Nussmeier back, which could be the biggest get of all.