Even though he's barely stepped foot on the field, you already know the name Arch Manning very well. Most of that comes through his famous family lineage, starting with his grandfather Archie Manning, and his two Super Bowl-winning uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning. The other part of that comes from him being one of the highest-rated, most sought-out recruits from last year.
After what seemed like years of waiting for Manning to finally arrive at the college level, going through endless scholarship offers that stretched across the entire country, the former five-star prospect chose Texas to continue his football career. The hype that came with him was and still is nearly as big as the Longhorn state itself, but yet there's been nothing to prove that it's warranted to this point.
In fact, that was more or less the reason given that Arch Manning chose to opt out of the popular EA Sports College Football 25 video game that is set to return to consoles later this summer.
It's being reported that Manning has said he wanted to wait until “he was the guy” and that he was focused on playing football on the field, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Orangebloods' Anwar Richardson.
What could be the real motive behind Arch Manning's decision to opt out of EA Sports College Football 25?
Manning's decision has to be a stick in the craw for college football fans who were hoping to get their chance to play with the popular quarterback. Of course, speculations began to arise that it was an issue of compensation due to Manning's opt-out. But that seems highly unlikely.
The No. 2 Texas quarterback has been said to be very reluctant to do NIL deals, even though he's more than likely one of the more sought-out players in the country. He has just one NIL deal through Panini America, a trading card company that included a charity auction.
Each of the more than 10,000 players to opt into the video game so far will receive $600 along with a free copy of the $70 game in an NIL deal. That will include such popular players like Colorado's Travis Hunter, Alabama's Jalen Milroe, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, and of course, Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
All things considered, $600 is menial, chump change, in comparison to the hundreds of thousands or even multi-million-dollar NIL deals some players are signing for in the new era of college football. That's why it's so puzzling as to why Manning would choose to opt out of the video game, as the compensation is rather meaningless, an afterthought. His decision, however, is not.
By choosing to opt-out of EA Sports College Football 25, Manning presents more questions about his future and his career than he would by agreeing to be a part of the video game. His reasonings for doing so don't make a lot of sense on the surface level, either. But beneath it, there's plenty of speculation.
Arch Manning's decision to opt out creates adverse effects
Manning has taken a much different approach than his peers, especially in the current landscape of the sport that's all about the transfer portal and NIL deals. Manning has played in only one game so far, completing just two passes for 30 yards. And it looks like he could be doing the same in 2024 with Quinn Ewers returning for his final season.
Someone of Manning's presumed talents that made him the No. 1 recruit in the country last year would have bolted by now, especially knowing they weren't going to get on the field next season, much like his lesser-rated quarterback teammate, Maalik Murphy. The former four-star left just before the Longhorns' College Football Playoff game against Washington, eventually transferring to Duke.
Likewise players would have also taken those plethora of NIL deals that are constantly being thrown at Manning, which in turn would have only further enticed a players chances of transferring to another school even more. But that's not who this quarterback is, and that's greatly admirable. That thought process at least helps to understand why he decided to opt out of the upcoming video game.
It seems as if Manning wants to earn everything he gets. Which, again, is incredibly admirable and should probably be a thought process followed by others in the sport. With that said, it seems that Manning's attitude of wanting to be “the guy,” the eventual starting quarterback for the Longhorns, flows from a humble mindset, making prior beliefs that unwanted distraction or lack of compensation influenced his decision. However, the reactions to his earnest actions is that it perhaps creates an adverse effect.
Again, Manning came by name alone with tons of hype behind him — his talents that he displayed on the field while in high school only exacerbated that. But with him deciding to stick it out with Texas football, even after he placed third on the depth chart behind Ewers and then Murphy was played over him when Ewers went down last season, that makes many wonder if the pressure is getting too great and maybe the expectations should be quieted a little bit. Bottom line: is Arch Manning the real deal or not?
Maybe Manning is trying to avoid even more unwarranted attention, and better yet, more comparisons — the ones he's been receiving for years as part of the Manning family. But now he may want to avoid the comparisons to his teammate in Ewers.
We all just want to know why make such an unlikely, puzzling decision, one that would have never been questioned or debated if Manning would have chosen to opt in instead of out.
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