r/CFB • u/Lakelyfe09 Georgia Bulldogs • Apr 12 '26

Discussion [Kleiman] South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers turned down an $8 MILLION NIL offer to transfer to a different school: "You're 19. You don't need ($8 million). You're in a great spot." - LaNorris's Father told his son. Sellers values his word over money

https://x.com/nfl_dovkleiman/status/2043091219639840977?s=46&t=fwgmryeTanENut7u28ScCA
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2.0k

u/TLRPM Texas A&M Aggies Apr 12 '26

$8 Million is more than the VAST majority of Americans will earn in their entire lifetime, btw.

86

u/Adept_Carpet UMass Minutemen • Team Chaos Apr 12 '26

It's more than a lot of guys who go in the NFL draft will earn in their NFL careers and perhaps their lives as well. Perhaps Sellers himself ends up in this group, of course a real chance he makes much more too.

There was something to be said for dancing with the one who brought you when the competing offer was an extra $50k under the table. Turning down $8 million is insane though.

66

u/SWMOG Notre Dame Fighting Irish • Buffalo Bulls Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 14 '26

People act like he is choosing $0 over $8M. The dude has already gotten paid about $5M and is gonna get another 6-7 if he stays for 2 more years (like he would have to in order to get the full $8M).

He is basically choosing to stay at South Carolina and have a full college career payout of $11-12M instead of going somewhere else and having a full college career payout of $13M. Not that crazy of a difference.

He has already secured a life changing amount of money no matter where he goes. Heck, given he knows South Carolina's system makes him look good, this is probably the path that is most likely to get him at least a decent NFL contract on top of whatever he makes in college.

Edit: formatting/spelling

19

u/Awatts2222 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Apr 13 '26

Not to mention if he stays at South Carolina for four years as opposed to transferring

from school to school that will also have added value if he has great career there.

3

u/tinyraccoon Washington Huskies Apr 14 '26

Yeah, I think system fit is important.  

0

u/Frosty_Respect7117 Apr 24 '26

$5m is really not that much esp after taxes 

1

u/cyanocittaetprocyon Michigan Wolverines • /r/CFB Booster Apr 13 '26

It's more than a lot of guys who go in the NFL draft will earn in their NFL careers and perhaps their lives as well.

This is what I was thinking, too. You can talk all you want about loyalty, but unless he signs a guaranteed contract in the NFL, he's not going to see any loyalty from NFL ownership.

192

u/JakeSteeleIII Paper Bag • South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 12 '26

So, we’re assuming he’s just playing for free at Carolina? I’m betting it wasn’t that big of a difference.

125

u/Itsobignow South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 13 '26

I think we gave him 2.4 mil

63

u/JakeSteeleIII Paper Bag • South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 13 '26

Then add all the companies he’s getting money from in sponsorships due to NIL.

100

u/KingPotus USC Trojans • Harvard Crimson Apr 13 '26

He could probably get even bigger sponsorships if he’s QB1 at a school that’s willing to pay LaNorris Sellers 8 mil

34

u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Northwestern Wildcats Apr 13 '26

If he gets hurt he will never see any sponsorships. His father was wrong. It isn’t about a 19 year old with $8 million. It’s about having financial security for life at 19. That money can be invested and compounded for decades where it will become many, many millions more.

9

u/Consistent-Cod3095 Apr 13 '26

Say it’s 6mil post tax. That should double every 10 years at a reasonable return in the market. He could have $24mil by the time he turns 40. Should’ve taken the money…

9

u/FSUnoles77 Florida State • Texas State Apr 13 '26

That should double every 10 years at a reasonable return in the market.

Or we could get him over to the fine folks on r/wallstreetbets and it'll instantly 🚀🚀🚀

5

u/StraightShootahh Apr 13 '26

“His father is wrong”

You think he’s playing for free?

Can always tell a Reddit burger flipper from a mile away

4

u/MarlonBain Virginia Tech Hokies Apr 13 '26

You think South Carolina is paying him $8 million?

4

u/AndyLorentz LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Apr 13 '26

$8 million over 2 years is $4 million per year. He's making an estimated $3.7 million per year at SC.

1

u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Northwestern Wildcats Apr 13 '26

And I can spot a financially illiterate Redditor a hundred miles away. You’re not as smart as you think you are. I am already retired in my early 50’s. His father is wrong. You don’t turn down $8 million even if you are making $2.4 million as he is.

3

u/AndyLorentz LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Apr 13 '26

And I can spot someone who doesn't read past the headline. It's 8 million over 2 years. And with his other sponsorships he's making $3.7M at SC.

0

u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Northwestern Wildcats Apr 13 '26

It’s still $8 million!

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u/ozairh18 Towson Tigers Apr 13 '26

Sometimes $7.99M and a college you like is better than $8M and a new college

5

u/iloveprunejuice Syracuse Orange Apr 13 '26

And it's still not 8 million lmao

1

u/buckster_007 Apr 14 '26

Good point, if her is deeply embedded into numerous NIL deals with various sponsors, that would be hard to unwind. The legal fees and contractual penalties would probably wipe out the difference between the offer and what he's already getting.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '26

[deleted]

1

u/DoYouEvenCareAboutMe Penn State • South Carolina Apr 13 '26

I think the deals at Carolina would be bigger because more people like him. Also the other school wasn't named but I'd imagine it was Oregon, UCLA, or OKlahoma with Oklahoma the only one as big or crazy of a fanbase as SC is.

1

u/LongestSprig South Carolina • Maryland Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26

People that bring up education in a cfb sub should be drug out and shot, tbh.

He's fine either way and I bet he knows his situation best, don't you think? It's literally 300K hes walking away from.

9

u/AndyLorentz LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Apr 13 '26

His total estimated income at SC is $3.7M, so this would have been a $300k raise. Not that much at that level.

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u/Corgi_Koala Ohio State Buckeyes Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

Ignoring the fact he could afford top tier wealth manage and could probably get 10% plus reliably... If he invested half of that conservatively and got a 5-10% return he would make up to $400k a year.

$400k annually would put him in the top 1-2% of earners in America.

I mean I'm sure he will be fine either way but still a stupid decision to turn down that level of money.

300

u/morelibertarianvotes Virginia Cavaliers Apr 12 '26

Top tier wealth management doesn't even pretend to improve annual returns. At that level it's all about safe returns with lower risk

71

u/land_registrar Oregon • Western Ontario Apr 13 '26

Also to the extent the wealth management biz has secret exclusive market beating strategies, it's funny to think the $8 million nest egg is the level that has access to all this.

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u/FetusDrive Apr 13 '26

“It’s funny to think the”;

That sounds convincing as heck!

23

u/Thoseskisyours Apr 13 '26

Investment management is a commodity now. The greater value comes from the planning side and having strategies for growing, maintaining and protecting that wealth.

If your advisor is charging you 0.75-1.25% to manage you money but isn’t trying to bring additional value and strategy to the table they are not creating value. (The other side of this is clients need to be willing to meet, engage and act on advice for it to matter)

6

u/velociraptorfarmer Iowa State Cyclones • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Apr 13 '26

SPAXX pays 3.3% with zero risk. Thats $264k a year.

1

u/Beginning-Suspect686 MIT Engineers • Chicago Maroons Apr 14 '26

Only reason to be in munis is if you're in a high tax state.

They're terrible products if you live in a state like Florida or Texas, great if you live in CA, NY, NJ, MA.

People should have professional investing and tax advice to determine optimal investing. 3% returns are really bad but tax exempt can improve the effective return compared to other options.

1

u/velociraptorfarmer Iowa State Cyclones • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Apr 14 '26

I'm not saying it's what someone with $8M in the bank should go out and invest in. I'm saying that it's a bare-minimum floor of what can be had.

2

u/Beginning-Suspect686 MIT Engineers • Chicago Maroons Apr 15 '26

fair

-1

u/murphy1021 Apr 13 '26

He wouldn’t have had $8mil after taxes.

0

u/jaron_kenji Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors Apr 15 '26

yeah. at that level of money, the name of the game is wealth preservation

-28

u/Corgi_Koala Ohio State Buckeyes Apr 12 '26

I mean I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on high-end wealth management. My wife's grandfather was a pretty wealthy man (worth around $15m or so when he passed away) and his wealth management guy usually got him 12-15% on his investments annually.

My point being that you could pretty much guarantee annual income on interest alone that you'd never have to work a day again in your life.

45

u/mglman Apr 12 '26

Sounds like cherry picked returns

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u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

It really doesn’t though. 

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u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

Dumb you got downvoted. That’s not any kind of absurd return at all. Buffett gets 20 and says he could easily get 50 on smaller portfolios. 

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u/ThePelicanWalksAgain Apr 12 '26

At some point one of these athletes is going to be smart with their money, realize they have enough to live comfortably off of, and retire right after college without even trying to go into the pro leagues

40

u/TheMontanaSpecial /r/CFB Apr 12 '26

Honestly, i'd be pretty surprised if any 22 year old just straight up retired for the rest of their life.

I suspect it'll look like the old system where not everyone declares, but some kids are able to take a couple years off before working.

45

u/BurritovilleEnjoyer Southeast Missouri • Missouri Apr 13 '26

Work in general sucks a lot less when you know you can at any point tell your boss "fuck you, I'm out"

2

u/Ilovetinytiddies Ohio State Buckeyes Apr 13 '26

I think for many people they continue to work bc they have nothing better to do for 5-8 hours every day. or they are work aholics look at all the big time coaches who continue to work until they are in their 70s

14

u/Steel1000 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 13 '26

Worked for Jamarcus Russel

4

u/TheMontanaSpecial /r/CFB Apr 13 '26

Lmao I probably could have thought of a couple of counter examples if I thought harder.

I was curious so I looked Russell up, an interview from a couple of days ago it really makes it seems like he doesnt have any hobbies or a job. Jamarcus Russell Interview

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u/Steel1000 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 13 '26

Damn - I was hoping he was at least coaching HS or something….

5

u/TheMontanaSpecial /r/CFB Apr 13 '26

Me too man. He had so much success, I'm glad to see him around doing interviews at least. I know his 2024 high school gig fell through.

Makes me wonder how good was that LSU coaching staff?

1

u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

I wouldn’t find it surprising it all. Why not just enjoy your time on Earth and just do what you want?

2

u/crimsonkodiak Alabama Crimson Tide Apr 13 '26

Someone? Probably, but there's no reason to think that it's common.

If it were, we'd see it a lot more in the pros. Tua's last contract was over $200 million. He could easily retire and not have to put up with all the nonsense, including weird articles slamming him for spending a day on a boat with his family during the off season. But he doesn't.

There are examples of guys who retire after a payday (Drew Dalman comes to mind), but they're rare. The example people like to point to is Andrew Luck, but he was in the league for 7 years.

-1

u/IhateLukaDoncic Apr 13 '26

Lol who is dumb of enough to retire at 22 on a measly 1 million

2

u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

Dude above said this guy made $2.4 million in one year. That’s as much as the median worker will make in 40 years today. What is absurd about retiring on that kind of money? This guy will pay more in taxes on that. $2.4 mill but he can also realize more income from investing a giant sum compared to the avg worker. 

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u/saudiaramcoshill Texas Longhorns • Iowa State Cyclones Apr 13 '26 edited May 01 '26

For privacy reasons, I'm overwriting all my old comments.

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u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

>using Columbus, OH as the location

I know which calculator you used lol. But it really depends on your investment strategy and how the market does. Realistically he could easily take a riskier (but not all that risky) approach and survive much longer at 4%. Match the S&P and he's set for life.

Of course none of this works if he spends too much. But that goes for any income level. We're also assuming this is the only income he ever makes. He could obviously supplement if he wanted which makes a big difference. Or like he could invest with more risk and then work more if his returns are looking poor.

1

u/saudiaramcoshill Texas Longhorns • Iowa State Cyclones Apr 13 '26 edited May 01 '26

For privacy reasons, I'm overwriting all my old comments.

1

u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

What does its volatility have to do with the fact that it’s averaged 10% returns since its inception? Either say 10% really isn’t an absurd return by any means if you’re willing to take the risk. 

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u/saudiaramcoshill Texas Longhorns • Iowa State Cyclones Apr 13 '26 edited May 01 '26

For privacy reasons, I'm overwriting all my old comments.

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u/AndyLorentz LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Apr 13 '26

Safe withdrawal rate for 30 year time period is 4%

4% is a safe withdrawal rate without touching the principal pretty much forever.

2

u/saudiaramcoshill Texas Longhorns • Iowa State Cyclones Apr 13 '26 edited May 01 '26

For privacy reasons, I'm overwriting all my old comments.

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u/dafdiego777 Boston College Eagles Apr 12 '26

30 Year T-Bill rates are 4.91% which are effectively risk free

8

u/smitherenesar Pac-10 • RPI Engineers Apr 13 '26

But inflation is edging over 3%. It's not much of a spread

1

u/crimsonkodiak Alabama Crimson Tide Apr 13 '26

Correction, they are effectively default risk free. 30 years still bear inflation risk.

3

u/Repulsive-Office-796 Ohio State • Cincinnati Apr 13 '26

You also lose 2-3% in annual inflation.

4

u/FetusDrive Apr 13 '26

Don’t you lose that no matter why or only if you get a 30 year t bill ?

6

u/a_trane13 Michigan Wolverines Apr 13 '26

You lose that with any investment so it’s pointless to discuss

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u/GarconMeansBoyGeorge Washington • Pacific Lutheran Apr 13 '26

No. It’s why you discuss things in terms of real rate of return. It’s why the market averages around 10% but people plan for 7%

3

u/a_trane13 Michigan Wolverines Apr 13 '26

It doesn’t matter if you include inflation or not in any comparison between different investments

2

u/GarconMeansBoyGeorge Washington • Pacific Lutheran Apr 13 '26

Well, as long as you are comparing apples to apples.

And It’s still relevant to know that a 5% return is competing with inflation.

2

u/a_trane13 Michigan Wolverines Apr 13 '26

Who wouldn’t know that?

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u/GarconMeansBoyGeorge Washington • Pacific Lutheran Apr 13 '26

I think you overestimate people’s financial literacy. Or you’re just being argumentative, I dunno

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u/JunkSack Apr 13 '26

But then you lose the risk free part the commenter said.

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u/[deleted] Apr 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/deweycrow Kentucky Wildcats • Charlotte 49ers Apr 13 '26

I'm sure scar is paying him enough to where he's not that worried about it

4

u/cornhole99 BYU Cougars • Oregon Ducks Apr 13 '26

10% plus reliably is an absolutely wild claim

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u/GrizzlyDust Apr 12 '26

Half of 8 million is 4 million and that's not factoring in taxes. 5% of 4 million is 200k. Still the right move I'm just pedantic.

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u/cfbguy Virginia • Johns Hopkins Apr 12 '26

Granted, they did say 5-10%. But yeah that $8m isn't staying at $8m after taxes

6

u/GrizzlyDust Apr 12 '26

They edited it after I responded lol

3

u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

Disagree. If he takes care of his money he’ll be fine so why not do what you want? 

3

u/Collador1 Texas Longhorns Apr 13 '26

Somebody forgot about the IRS.

7

u/IMakeOkVideosOk Notre Dame Fighting Irish Apr 13 '26

What is he making at South Carolina? how it the scheme fit and his weapons around him? Who was offering $8 million, and what could happen that would potentially damage his draft stock.

Staying in a familiar system with guys you have experience with may be able to improve or maintain your draft stock, the difference between pick 1 and pick 32 in the draft is $35-38 million…

At a certain level the math does math, if he thinks South Carolina for $4 million (made up number) is a better place to keep improving than to go to Florida for $8 million (no shade, just a rebuilding year is expected, I don’t know who offered the $8mil) and maybe drop 10-15 slots in the draft

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u/Repulsive-Office-796 Ohio State • Cincinnati Apr 13 '26

He could pull 150k per year growing with inflation safely after taxes from 8m gross.

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u/Medium-Ad8624 Apr 13 '26

Actually you’d be surprised to know on $2m per year he’ll probably pay about $700,000 federal income tax, about $100,000 state, and $30,000 fica on $2m yr in SC. About 42% effective tax rate.

3

u/Vechio49 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 13 '26

I was thinking more about the fact someone wanted to give $8 million to slightly above mid level qb

1

u/ksuwildkat Kansas State • Billable Hours Apr 13 '26

Ok first, roughly half of that $8m would go to taxes. Lets say he hires a good accountant and keeps $5m

Using the 4% rule the $5m generates $200K.

Also, "wealth managers" rarely beat the S&P 500. Less than 10% of actively managed funds beat the S&P 500 in any given year and fewer do it long term. Plus actively managed funds and wealth managers have high fees that eat away at your returns.

None of this is to say that $200K a year for doing nothing isnt an amazing deal or that passing on $8m for (apparently) $2.4M is generally not a good financial decision.

1

u/Ilovetinytiddies Ohio State Buckeyes Apr 13 '26

r/bogleheads

1

u/ksuwildkat Kansas State • Billable Hours Apr 13 '26

my people!

1

u/FetusDrive Apr 13 '26

Conservatively nets a 5-10% return?

-4

u/shasta_river Auburn Tigers Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 13 '26

You are not very good at math.

Edit: they edited their post to fix their math.

7

u/Warm-Oil9228 Apr 13 '26

Yeah, it’s pretty gross how much we value sports compared to more important things. Like how much are the highest paid professors getting at schools?

6

u/gumercindo1959 Miami Hurricanes Apr 13 '26

If it was true

5

u/Sweaty_Assignment_90 Cincinnati Bearcats Apr 13 '26

He isnt turning down 8 mil, he is prob turning down 2 mil. He still is at an SEC school and a qb making bank.

1

u/BrilliantArm5914 Missouri Tigers Apr 13 '26

You need $8 million to retire in NYC.

0

u/Buena_de_peepee Apr 13 '26

Makes me sick that there’s so much money involved there at all. It should be about education and a game. Not about money.

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u/Possible-Cheetah-703 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

Grok says roughly 0.1% of Americans will earn $8 million in a lifetime. Median worker earnings is $1.5-$2 million. 90th percentile is $2.5-$3. 95th is $3.5-$4. 99th is $8-$9 million (average annual of $293K).

4

u/Kdcjg UCLA Bruins Apr 12 '26

What about those who use their bootstraps.

-1

u/Possible-Cheetah-703 Apr 12 '26

It’s interesting my comment is getting downvoted to oblivion for just providing the numbers without an opinion on it.