Texas likely broke the bank with wild NIL deal to land 5-star transfer Cam Coleman

Every year, the money in the transfer portal keeps going up. Last year, it cost $3-4 million to land a top veteran quarterback. This year, that could be the going rate for the portal’s top wide receiver, Cam Coleman. 

Texas landed a commitment from the former five-star on Sunday after he spent two years at Auburn, and On3 founder Shannon Terry, who is presumably plugged into the machinations of the portal market, speculated that Coleman’s deal was likely $3 to $3.5 million or more for one year. 

Texas resets the WR transfer portal market with a move it had to make

Again, Terry’s post is speculation, not reporting, but others, including ESPN’s Max Olson on the Ryen Russillo podcast last week, have expected similar numbers for Coleman, who was heavily pursued by Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, three of the most well-funded programs in the country. And, even when the numbers are officially reported, many of those reports are informed speculation because contracts are almost never disclosed. 

So, let’s assume that Terry is at least in the right neighborhood and that the deal is coming in at over $3 million. That’s easily the most a wide receiver has ever gotten for one year in the transfer portal. However, that doesn’t mean that Texas overpaid. 

Coleman is an unreal talent whose production has been limited by the poor quarterback play at Auburn over the last two seasons, racking up 93 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns across his first two collegiate seasons. Now that he’s paired with Arch Manning, that could be one season of production in Austin, which is likely all the Longhorns will get before both players make the inevitable jump to the NFL. 

Arch Manning has Texas’s national title window wide open

Steve Sarkisian’s window to win a national championship at Texas is wide open for the 2026 season, but beyond that, even with 2026 five-star quarterback Dia Bell in waiting, it’s uncertain. All the hype that Manning got heading into his first year as a starter is now deserved going into next season after he finished the year on an absolute heater. 

Through the final six games of the season, including his sensational performance in the Citrus Bowl, Manning threw for 1,714 yards, completed 61.5 percent of his throws, averaged 7.9 yards per attempt, and threw 14 touchdowns to two interceptions. Over that same 5-1 stretch, he also ran for 259 yards and five touchdowns. 

Manning is ready to compete for championships and win a national championship. He just needed a little more help. In 2026, Manning’s receivers had an 8.5 percent drop rate, by no means disastrous, but far from elite. He was pressured on 37.3 percent of dropbacks, the fourth-highest rate in the SEC, and Texas ranked 80th in the country in rushing success rate. 

Along with adding Coleman, Texas’s offseason spending spree has netted the Longhorns running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, former Michigan State tight end Michael Masunas, and key defensive additions. 

As it should be, Texas is all-in to win a title, and without a hard cap on spending in college football, it should be. Coleman will be the elite No. 1 that Manning needs, and allowing fellow 2024 five-star Ryan Wingo to slide into a WR2 role, stretching the field as a vertical deep threat and getting quick touches on screens and sweeps to utilize his speed. 

Wingo is a dynamic player, but with his persistent drop problem, he’s ideally not a volume target No. 1. Though very few programs have the resources to live in that ideal world and add a wide receiver better than him, and have a quarterback willing to defer any revenue-sharing money because he has two Pro Football Hall of Famers as uncles, and is an NIL superstar. Texas can afford it and does have that quarterback, so while it may have cost $3 million, that world the Longhorns need to do everything it can to maximize its final year with Manning.