After reports around former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia started to heat up during draft week, the Heisman runner-up went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier in the week that there was increasing interest in the quarterback, but apparently not enough.
Instead, Pavia accepted an invitation from the Baltimore Ravens to attend their rookie minicamp.
What Is Diego Pavia’s Financial Outlook After the 2026 NFL Draft?
Players can make a lot of money outside of strictly their NFL contracts these days, and that could be the case for Pavia. While players’ NIL earnings are often kept private or at least somewhat private, On3’s Pete Nakos reported Pavia made more than $2 million in NIL deals in 2025. If Pavia can keep his name in the NFL mix or carve out a role for himself, he could look for endorsement deals as well.
The former Commodore doesn’t have the stability of a guaranteed contract through the draft, but if he signs as an undrafted free agent, he’ll still get paid the league minimum, which, for the average person, is a very, very nice paycheck.
When players go undrafted, if they end up signing with a team, the contract must be a three-year deal paying the league minimum. However, that league minimum is $885,000 in 2026 and rises to $930,000 in 2027.
Undrafted players have the ability to negotiate a second contract with the team with which they signed prior to their third season, which is a perk of being undrafted.
Players drafted in the final few rounds don’t get to pick their team and must play the first three years of their contract before they can negotiate an extension. However, drafted players receive an initial four-year contract, and the fourth year provides them with enough service time to become an unrestricted free agent when it expires.
On the other hand, undrafted free agents are restricted free agents after those initial three years, unless they’ve signed an extension after the second year.
Pavia will now be able to choose where he starts his NFL career as an undrafted free agent. While Pavia went viral last season for telling Jon Gruden he didn’t have an agent for his NIL earnings, he now has an agent as he enters the NFL.
While Pavia’s exact net worth is unknown, he ranked among the top 10 in college football NIL earners last season, right behind Fernando Mendoza’s $2.6 million.
According to marca.com, the quarterback earned roughly $2.5 million in NIL last year. For all of those who want to tear Pavia down for the way he acts or spends his money, the college quarterback turned down offers of at least $4 million from other SEC schools to return to Vanderbilt in 2025.
As Pavia enters the NFL, it’s almost certain he’ll sign an undrafted free agent contract; it’s just a matter of where. When he does so, he’ll make more than $1.5 million over the next two years, and that’s besides any endorsement deals he signs.
It could be a quick climb for the quarterback if he finds any sort of role as a quarterback in the future. For example, Gardner Minshew signed with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason as a backup quarterback for a $5.14 million guaranteed contract that’s worth up to $8.25 million.
MORE: NFL UDFA Tracker 2026: Latest Undrafted Free Agent Signings Following the 2026 NFL Draft
Diego Pavia’s College Football Career and Stats
Pavia started his college career at New Mexico Military Institute as a zero-star recruit. He accumulated 4,423 passing yards and 39 touchdowns across two seasons at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt. With the Commodores, he collected 5,832 yards and 49 touchdowns across his final two years and led the SEC in touchdowns and completion percentage in his senior year.
Pavia finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting and became the first player since 2014 to be a Heisman finalist and go undrafted. However, other players who went undrafted recently and have developed NFL careers are Austin Ekeler, Kenny Moore II, Shaq Barrett, and Charvarius Ward, in addition to all-time greats like Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, Antonio Gates, and Wes Welker.
