Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa turned down a potentially life-changing $1.5 million in NIL money to transfer to an unnamed SEC team.
The younger brother of NFL quarterback Tua, Tagovailoa called the offer “eye-popping” to The Athletic but, after consulting with his older brother, decided it was best to reject the bid for his talents and stay with the Terps and new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
Tagovailoa decided his happiness outweighed any money he was being offered.
“It would be hard for me to go to another place and not be happy but have all the money in the world,” Tagovailoa explained. “(I’d rather) be at a place where maybe I don’t have as much, but I’m happy, and I’m here to work.”
With the nature of college football heavily revolving around NIL money and the transfer portal, the Terrapins’ head coach Mike Locksley was unsure whether he would return to Maryland until the deadline had past.
“You hear the rumors, you know some of the things are going on out there behind the scenes,” Locksley said. “No, I was not comfortable until I saw him run out after that portal window closed up. But even then, a guy that’s a graduate can still leave and go play somewhere. I haven’t had a lot of nights of great sleep.”
Tagovailoa performed valiantly in Maryland last season, throwing for 3,008 yards and 18 touchdowns versus eight interceptions in 12 games.
He would have been a valued addition to any contending team headed into 2023 but instead will stay in Maryland, which is expected to enter 2023 unranked.
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