NIL, if used correctly, can prevent another Anthony Richardson debacle from happening in the NFL

There is a lesson to be learned from the Anthony Richardson story.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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The most important position in the National Football League is quarterback. It also happens to be the hardest to identify a great one.

The success rate of quarterbacks in the NFL Draft is not high. Even in the first round, it’s far from a guarantee to get your future signal caller. The reasons behind that are vast, as each individual prospect comes with their own unique set of challenges. Being able to figure out which prospect will work out has earned some general managers and coaches a lot of leash, while others don’t ever see a second contract.

The latest quarterback who has seen an immense amount of struggles after being a top pick in the first round is Anthony Richardson, who lost the starting job to Daniel Jones on Tuesday.

Career paths like Anthony Richardson can be avoided thanks to NIL

When Richardson came out, just like Trey Lance, he had just one season of starting experience and was loaded with talent. The problem was simple with Richardson, and for that matter Lance: The experience factor was severely lacking.

My scouting report on Richardson ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft highlighted a brilliant idea at quarterback, but one that needed a lot of reps to reach his ceiling.

Richardson is mechanically inconsistent, but the real appeal here is that you can see flashes of brilliant mechanics. When he gets his feet set and syncs his lower body with his arm, he can put the ball wherever he wants.

Tyler Forness’ scouting report on Anthony Richardson

For Richardson and Lance, they chose to leave college after starting less than 15 games in college, and their teams knew they needed a lot of playing time to reach their potential. When they came in, they needed patience while they learned on the job. Doing so can elevate them to their potential.

The reality for NFL team is they don’t have the patience for a quarterback to be that up and down to start his career. This isn’t the 1970s when a player like Terry Bradshaw was allowed to struggle early on before figuring it out and winning four Super Bowls. They need to see results now.

Where things are interesting from a quarterback standpoint in the evolution of NIL and revenue sharing. We are seeing more and more players choose to stay longer in college because there is a major revenue stream. Quarterbacks are reportedly making upward of $4 million per season to stay in the college ranks, as that is what Carson Beck is supposedly getting from the University of Miami (FL).

Over the past two years, we’ve seen a few older prospects at quarterback go in the first round. Jayden Daniels (23), Michael Penix Jr. (24), Bo Nix (23), and Cam Ward (23) all spent at least five years in college with multiple of them being five year starters. Having that kind of experience can immediately translate into the NFL early on.

There is something to having experience in college translating to the next level. It’s not always going to be the case, but Daniels just won Offensive Rookie of the Year and Nix was right behind him. Being able to have a lot of experience going against different defenses and working on your processing ability.

One of the reasons why those players likely chose to stay was due to NIL money. In fact, Ward staying one more season propelled him from being a day three pick to the first overall pick this past April.

Having the access to both NIL money and revenue sharing with the universities is a big deal for quarterbacks. It can elevate their game to a higher level, which will maximize what they can do early on in the NFL. When high-upside players like Richardson end up wanting to declare for the NFL Draft, doing so early isn’t always the best decision. The NFL will only give you so much leash to develop on the fly. We’ve already seen Bryce Young and Richardson get benched last season because that development wasn’t happening, and now Richardson is in the same spot.

The lesson here for young quarterbacks is simple: Getting reps where you can get them is extremely important. They believed the NFL was the spot where they can get them, but a lack of patience from coaches is something that prospects should take to heart.

Take the NIL and revenue share money and get the reps in college while you can. We are seeing it make a major impact on NFL success, and it’s likely to continue. When you can do this, taking the smart path is always the best play.

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