Just about anything can be bought with $8 million, but it couldn’t lure quarterback LaNorris Sellers away from South Carolina.
Norris, Sellers’ father, shared with The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman that his son turned down a two-year, $8 million NIL proposal from a different school.
“He received numerous outrageous offers,” Norris Sellers commented. “I told him it was his call to either stay or leave. My advice was simple: focus on getting into college with a scholarship, play football, earn a degree, and move forward with life. The NIL deal is a new development. Our primary goal wasn’t to make money; it was to obtain an education and play sports. Despite other schools reaching out, offering more, we won’t abandon ship for a higher offer. If things are working well, there’s no need for change.”
LaNorris expressed a similar view, stating: “I’ve played football for free my entire life. I have meaningful relationships here, my family is settled here, and my brother is here too. I see no reason to uproot myself and start from scratch elsewhere.”
Still, $8 million is an eye-popping figure, even compared with some of the most expensive NIL offers to be publicized recently.
Texas signal caller Quinn Ewers was rumored to have been offered $6 million by an unnamed school to forego the NFL draft and enter the transfer portal, although Ewers did not pounce and instead opted to go pro.
Carson Beck reportedly signed a $4 million NIL deal to transfer to Miami after going 24-3 as Georgia’s primary starting quarterback in 2023 and 2024.
Sellers led the Gamecocks to a 9-4 record in 2024, passing for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he’ll look to build on those numbers in 2025.
“He’s made of the right stuff,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said. “He’s got a great family around him. He knows what he means to this state. LaNorris has a chance to leave a legacy here.”
