Ty Simpson is a real one.
The Alabama quarterback had a pretty big offer to stay in college football for another season and play for the Miami Hurricanes, but he decided to move on to the NFL Draft, where he's got a very good shot at being the second QB taken. And after waiting three years (and two coaches) to get his opportunity to lead the Tide's offense, Simpson didn't want to play for another program.
Former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said he is "absolutely" content with entering the NFL draft, adding it would "tarnish my legacy" to stay in college and play for another school. https://t.co/hsEpUs4Kza
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 31, 2026
The full quote is: "The last thing I wanted to do was tarnish my legacy and go somewhere else where I didn't go out of high school and I didn't want to play," he said. "... Hopefully, in the draft, whenever my name gets written on a card, they write the University of Alabama on there. It's going to give me great pride."
Ty Simpson chose to preserve his legacy with Alabama
There are a couple of things to unpack. First, Miami's offer was reportedly $6.5 million and that's nothing to sneeze. In many walks of life, $6.5 million dollars, even after taxes (and Florida doesn't have a state income tax) is life-changing type of money. If he didn't play another snap of football, Simpson would've been able to live a pretty comfortable life. Second, the Hurricanes are coming off of a great CFP run that saw them in the championship game. Simpson would've had a very talented group of players around him.
But that wasn't as important to the native of Martin, Tennessee as it was to be remembered as a quarterback of the Crimson Tide. And Simpson had a pretty darn good season. For about nine weeks, he was the Heisman favorite and winning 11 games with an SEC schedule is a hard thing to do. He fought in every game and left everything he had on the field. Could the results have been better? Sure. They can always be better if the team doesn't reach its ultimate goal of winning a championship. Is there really any question that if Simpson led one of the more loaded Saban teams of the 2010s, they would've have won a championship with him?
However, Simpson played his butt off and wants to be remembered for giving his all to the 2025 Crimson Tide football team. Not whatever could've happened he had decided to play college football in 2026.