The TV was muted, but the silence in the living room said enough. Phone in hand, untouched food on the table, he watched as name after name flashed across the screen — still not his. By the time the seventh round rolled around, even hope had started to whisper doubts. This wasn’t just about football anymore. It was about everything he thought he was — and what the league just told him he wasn’t.
It was a genuine shock to Quinn Ewers when no team called his name until the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Taken by the Miami Dolphins at No. 231 overall, the selection came far too late—late in every possible sense. His adamant decision not to return to college football for the 2025 season left little room for error. And now, the cost of that call? Roughly $8 million.
Critics widely panned Ewers for damaging his draft stock, both before and after officially declaring for the NFL. Once considered a potential early-round talent, he tumbled all the way to the final day of the draft. That slide didn’t just bruise his pride — it delivered a financial gut punch. According to reports, Ewers likely forfeited around $8 million in potential NIL deals and sponsorships by leaving Texas early.
In the new era of college football, star quarterbacks can rake in serious money without ever stepping onto an NFL field. Ewers, however, walked away from that security too soon. The NFL dream is still intact, but the consequences are already hitting hard. And at the end of the day, there’s only one person who made that call — Quinn Ewers himself.
NBC Sports’ Mike Florio described it bluntly: “It’s one of the unintended consequences of the NIL era. Some players get enough endorsements and attention to make it awkward to make him a backup quarterback.” That’s the exact dilemma now facing Ewers — a high-profile name saddled with the reality of starting his NFL journey buried on the depth chart.
In Miami, he’s behind Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson, making his path to even the QB2 role a steep uphill battle. Florio added, “It won’t be easy to leapfrog Wilson. It will be impossible, at least until 2027, to jump Tua. His contract carries two more years of fully guaranteed compensation.”
That reality is the painful byproduct of a freefall that few saw coming—especially Ewers’ camp.
Why did NFL teams skip Quinn Ewers?
In the aftermath of the draft, Ewers’ agent, Ron Slavin, was left stunned. He reached out to teams he had been in close contact with throughout the process, seeking clarity. As ESPN’s Todd Archer reported, Slavin “reached out to half the league” trying to understand the drop. The feedback? Teams thought Ewers had mid-round value, but his name recognition made him too high-profile to sit on the sidelines. A bizarre paradox: too famous to be a backup, yet not compelling enough to go early.
“They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder,” Slavin reiterated, frustrated by the league’s collective hesitancy. For a quarterback once projected to be among the top picks, the explanation stung. His agent wasn’t shy about his opinion on that decision, calling the franchises’ thought process “chickensh-t”.
Via @toddarcher, agent Ron Slavin asked “half the league” why QB Quinn Ewers slid to round seven: “They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder. Which I think is chickenshit.” https://t.co/LLoJ71WULC
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 4, 2025
And it’s not as if the talent wasn’t there. In the 2024 season, Ewers threw for 3,472 yards with a 65.8% completion rate and racked up touchdowns against top-tier defenses. Statistically, he had the kind of year that should’ve solidified Day 2 status. But concerns over leadership, durability, and whether he could immediately compete at the NFL level seemed to outweigh the metrics.
Now, the aftermath leaves him fighting for relevance in a crowded Dolphins quarterback room. Zach Wilson, though inconsistent, has NFL starting experience. Tua Tagovailoa, despite listing his house for sale amid Will Levis trade rumors, is entrenched as the franchise’s leader — at least for now. And Ewers? He’ll be fighting to prove that the league’s perception of him was flawed, starting with training camp reps and preseason flashes.
With the quarterback landscape shifting rapidly and franchises seeking not just arm strength but adaptability, mental fortitude, and leadership presence, Ewers has no choice but to grind. The spotlight that once followed him now adds pressure — and scrutiny. The NFL may not have wanted the headline act just yet, but Ewers still has a shot to flip the script. Whether that happens in Miami or elsewhere, the next chapter starts under much different terms than he expected.
The post Quinn Ewers Responsible for $8M Loss as Dolphins QB’s Agent Fires Shots at NFL’s ‘Chickensh-t’ Decision appeared first on EssentiallySports.
