Former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has no reservations about entering the NFL draft and spurning offers to enter the transfer portal and play for another school.
Simpson said he is “absolutely” content with his decision and believes it would “tarnish my legacy” had he played for a different school.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the last jersey I wanted to wear in college was the Alabama Crimson Tide jersey,” Simpson told AL.com on Wednesday. “I came there. I stayed there.”
Simpson, a five-star recruit in the Class of 2022, sat three seasons behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe, waiting for his opportunity to start in 2025. Simpson threw for 3,567 yards (second in the SEC behind Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss) and 28 touchdowns against just five interceptions. Simpson’s play led the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record and a Rose Bowl berth in the second round of the College Football Playoff, where they lost 38-3 to eventual national champion Indiana.
Simpson’s agent, Peter Webb, told The Athletic earlier this month that the quarterback turned down multiple lucrative offers from other schools to turn pro. He did not specifically say which schools offered NIL deals to Simpson, but said the proposals were in the low-to-mid seven-figures.
“In a time where kids transfer for more money at every possible turn and make it a transactional decision based on finances, Ty is a unicorn and took the road less traveled,” Webb said.
Simpson told AL.com that playing for another school was never in the cards for him.
“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.”
With Oregon’s Dante Moore deciding to return to school, Simpson is now listed by The Athletic’s Austin Mock as the No. 2-ranked draft-eligible quarterback in the upcoming 2026 NFL draft.
Among other top quarterbacks entering the draft — Mendoza, Simpson, Chambliss, Drew Allar (Penn State) and Carson Beck (Miami) — Simpson and Allar are the only two to have never transferred from the school they originally committed to, and Simpson is the lone QB to have never transferred and only started one season.
