Despite lucrative offers exceeding $6 million, former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson says he never considered entering the transfer portal and playing another season of college football at another school for an enhanced payday after he declared for the NFL Draft in January.

As ex-teammate Alabama Jalen Milroe and former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers from last year’s draft class have previously admitted, Simpson spurned opportunities because how he was viewed by Crimson Tide fans and others around the program meant something to him.

“It was very flattering for (other schools) to call and ask what I am feeling. Ask that I had another year, if I wanted to play another year of college football,” Simpson told Pro Football Talk on Friday. “One, I didn’t want to play for another team. There wasn’t a team that I wanted to play for besides Alabama. I didn’t want to ruin my legacy. And I was ready to go to the NFL.”

Simpson isn’t the only projected draft pick at the NFL combine who passed on a significant pay bump to play elsewhere during his college career. Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price, the second-best ballcarrier available per CBS Sports behind former teammate Jeremiyah Love, could have jumped from the Fighting Irish after an appearance in the national championship in 2024, but wanted another crack at chasing a title ring.

NFL combine 2026: Grades for top DB prospects, plus other standout performers from on-field workouts

Garrett Podell

Many NFL franchises touched on the subject with Price during interviews, wondering why he was OK with playing behind Love.

“Half of them ask about (a light workload), the other half ask, ‘Why didn’t you go somewhere else and want to be a feature back?'” Price said Friday from Indianapolis. “I just tell them Notre Dame was the place for me, and ultimately at the end (NFL officials) are like, ‘We do respect that and we’re glad you made that decision.'”

Price’s NIL deal with the Fighting Irish increased before his final season last fall when he rushed for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns, but if it was exclusively about contract figures, he would have been playing for a different program.  

“The only difficult thing was having to tell my mom that a school has offered me this amount of money and then telling her that I wasn’t going to do that,” Price said. “That was hard. Money can be a big thing, but it’s not all. It isn’t everything. That’s what I truly believe.”

Playing for one of college football’s biggest brands and keeping his mindset locked on the next level helped, Price said.

“Just keeping my head down and working and understanding that I’m going to create generational wealth later down the line,” Price said. “It’s not all about money right now. I wanted to make sure I had the intangibles to get into the league and make sure I made real money that’s going to carry me and help my family out.”

Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock, who is only the 10th player in program history and first since 2001 invited to the combine, attended Fork Union Military Academy out of high school before signing with the only FBS program that offered him.

Murdock had a chance to leave the Group of Six program after the 2024 season following a Bahamas Bowl Defensive MVP performance, but stuck around to finish what he started. Murdock finished his four-year career at Buffalo with 17 forced fumbles, breaking an NCAA record and program record once held by Khalil Mack, the only first-round pick in school history.

“I’m very big on watering your grass … I’m not moved by any type of materialistic thing,” Murdock said Wednesday. “I want to look back 20 years and be proud of what I left at Buffalo and I know I did all I could to do so. That’s something I can go to sleep at night and have peace with rather than chasing any external validation.”

Then there’s Arkansas defensive lineman Cam Ball, a unicorn of sorts as a five-year player at one school in this year’s draft cycle. During the portal era, most development for players comes across multiple programs, or if you’re NFL-ready, three years and out is the route.

“I’m one of those rare players in today’s age that was there all five years,” Ball said. “They gave me all the tools and keys to succeed and what I needed to be here today. Arkansas did a tremendous job for it and I’m a forever proud alum.”

At 6-4, 310, Ball tied for the sixth-best vertical jump (32 inches) as an interior defensive lineman and is one of six former Razorbacks at the combine. He is the only one of those invitees, however, who initially signed with Arkansas and didn’t transfer into the program.