Archie Manning’s bloodline has been very strong in the world of football. Their last name has practically become synonymous with the quarterback position due to him, Eli, and Peyton. However, there is one big name in the Texas Longhorns Football program that Coach Steve Sarkisian is mentoring such that he becomes the next big thing. He goes by Arch Manning, the son of Cooper Manning and Ellen Heidingsfelder, and he has been phenomenal already despite having only started in college football a few times. Let’s learn about his life and where he’s headed in this article.

Being born with big shoes to fill

Arch Manning was born on the 27th of April 2005. He is Archie Manning’s eldest grandson through Cooper Manning. His grandfather played at Ole Miss. Cooper, his dad, was also slated to continue the family legacy at their dad’s alma mater but damages to his hands during the final run he had in high school prevented him from popping off. Despite this, the signal-calling genes were not put to waste as Peyton became a legend for the Tennessee Volunteers and Eli did the same with Ole Miss.

Much like his uncles and father, Arch grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He made the most out of the situation and balled out according to his genes. His peewee football days made him an exceptional recruit and it was very clear that he would become an elite quarterback. 14 years after his birth, Arch’s tunnel vision kicked in and football took up a large majority of his life as he entered the Isidore Newman High School Football Program.

Arch Manning’s legend in high school

It was very clear that anyone but a Manning starting at quarterback would feel wrong for Isidore Newman. Their gut along with the rest of the nation’s hunch was right as Arch did not take much time to become a natural at the signal-caller spot. He became the first true freshman in 40 years to start at the position. His school ended up only losing two out of their 11 games despite some of his questionable woes. Arch completed 64.6% of his passes and threw for an insane career-high of 2,509 yards alongside 34 touchdowns. He did all of that while only being intercepted six times. All of which gave him the Max Preps National Freshman of the Year honor.

His second and third years in high school from 2020 to 2021 were what set him apart from his uncles. Notably, Eli and Peyton weren’t the most elite at running the ball but Cooper was. Despite his passing numbers never breaking past 2,000 yards in those two seasons, Arch was blasting through defensive lines and secondaries. Throughout that period, Arch ran 580 yards on 71 carries. He even got to the end zone 14 times while carrying the ball.

Arch ended his high school run with a fair improvement in his passer rating which was at 130.3. Interestingly, his junior rating only clocked in at 119.3 so this surge in numbers was certainly noteworthy. He only got picked off twice but managed to lead Isidore Newman to 34 touchdowns alongside 2,270 passing yards on 140 completions. A decision had to be made as to where he was going next.

Choosing the Texas Longhorns

Arch was coming off a stellar high school run which gave him a consensus five-star rating across all sites like ESPN, Rivals and 247. ESPN even have him an astounding numeric rating of 93. Clearly, everyone wanted to get the stellar quarterback not just because of his skill but the amount of revenue a Manning at quarterback would bring in is always huge. 

Despite all of the buzz, Arch and his family chose to keep his commitment decision-making calculus very tight-knit. Mainstream media was kept out of it and effectively the general public because he chose to change his Instagtram settings on private too. Only trusted coaches and family members were allowed to see his profile back then. However, this did not mean that his commitment was no longer a big deal. In fact, a lot of outlets scoured the following pages of nearly all of the college football head honchos. Programs like SMU, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and Ole Miss among others reached to have him visit.

By the 23rd of June in 2023, Arch had a decision. His letter of intent was fully signed and penned as he also made his social media public again. It was none other than the Texas Longhorns led by Coach Steve Sarkisian that won the recruitment war.

Arch Manning NIL Valuation

Arch Manning is considered one of the most marketable athletes in all of College Sports. With his lasting legacy and playing for one of the biggest schools in the Nation in the Texas Longhorns Arch Manning gets one of the highest NIL Valuations.

According to On3 Arch Manning NIL Valuation comes to $3.1 Million.

Life at Austin, the numbers, and cash flow so far

Everybody expected Arch to ball out immediately but fate did not favor his chances at all. Quinn Ewers ended up choosing to return to the Longhorns and it was very clear that Coach Steve Sarkisian would make the older quarterback the starter for the remainder of his stay. This would make any player want to hit the transfer portal but Arch had trust in his head honcho.

He only played twice in his freshman year but that did not bog him down at all. His patience would pay off in Week 3 of the Longhorns’ 2024 campaign. Ewers had to be sidelined due to some abdominal pain and Arch was called up to take over. He did not and has not disappointed at all.

In just four games and two starts in 2024, the young Manning recorded 900 passing yards with a completion percentage that clocked in at 70.5. Those numbers only got more insane too. His passer rating climbed up to 205.3 while he also rushed 82 yards on 13 carries. He led the Longhorns to 12 touchdowns with three of them coming off rushes.

Arch has gotten the attention of many brands and the new NIL legislation has allowed him to amass a lot of wealth off it. For starters, one of his Panini cards sold for $100,000 which is a big indicator of the demand for his merchandise. He also ended up signing with EA Sports such that his likeness could be used in College Football 25. The Longhorns quarterback reportedly earned as much as $60,000 because of this. It would have been a big wasted oppportunity had he gone with his initial decision to not be involved with the game.

All in all, his athletic background mixed with the prestige of the Manning family name has gotten him a net worth of $13 million with $3.94 million of those coming off just his NIL valuation. His legend will only grow as well as the revenue he brings in.