Alabama has not had its greatest season ever, and quarterback Jalen Milroe is rubbing some salt in their wounds. The redshirt junior, still with a year of eligibility, is declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. The move hasn’t surprised anyone, but it’s not the smartest decision for a quarterback who hasn’t really shown much ability. For the past couple of seasons, he’s been a smaller, slower, weaker-armed version of what Anthony Richardson was at Florida.
Richardson was a top five pick in the 2023 Draft, and to call him a bust would be a compliment compared to what he has actually been. He dazzled scouts at the combine with his arm strength and his 4.43 speed, as a 6’4 245 pound specimen. Milroe is 6’2 and 200 pounds, and while his arm is decent, it’s not the rocket that Richardson displayed. Milroe is also fast, but might not be faster than 4.43 (even though Google alleges he runs a 4.30).
Over the last two seasons starting for the Crimson Tide, Milroe has averaged 218 yards per game passing, the majority of those yards coming against Alabama’s usual suspects of unranked teams. Richardson averaged 212 yards per game in his one year as a starter for Florida, but was better at running the ball (6.3 yards per carry) than Milroe (3.8 yards per carry). For a guy who is allegedly Michael Vick fast, Milroe gets tackled after some pretty short gains.
Milroe does average 234 yards per game passing versus top 25 teams, but lost twice to Michigan in back-to-back seasons. He threw for 154 yards per game versus the Wolverines, and only threw one touchdown in the two games combined. He’s not elite versus bad teams and he’s not elite versus good teams, so how do scouts think he will fare versus pro teams? They’ve likely learned their lesson from Richardson, and won’t take a big risk on Milroe, no matter how he wows physically.
The reality is that Milroe projects as a day two pick at best. This means he would get a rookie contract between $2 million and $2.5 million per year. Even if a team wants to take him at the bottom of the first round (for the extra option year) and sit him a couple years, he’d still be looking at a deal around $3 million per year. With the college NIL rules, he could make more than that as a starter for a big university.
Last season, Shedeur Sanders made $6.2 million playing for Colorado. Darian Mensah just got $4.3 million a year to play at Duke, and he is nowhere near the quarterback that Milroe is. Mensah threw for 2,723 yards last season (Milroe threw for 2,844) in a weaker conference (AAC vs the SEC). If he can get that from a basketball college, then Milroe should be able to get between four and five million dollars to play quarterback for a football school,
Colorado has a couple of great freshman quarterbacks, but Coach Prime would love to have Milroe for a season after losing hi son to the NFL. The Buffaloes wouldn’t miss a beat, and might even be better than they were this year. Deion knows how to get his players paid as well. Should Milroe opt to wear gold and black next season, he would certainly make more than he would as a rookie in the NFL.
North Carolina just upped their NIL budget from $4 million to $20 million to allow Bill Belichick to build a contender for what he’s calling an “NFL prep school”. Milroe could head to Chapel Hill, learn how to play football from the greatest coach in the history of the sport, and likely boost his draft stock, to where he is a top-15 pick in 2026.
If it’s revenge he wants, he could land at Ohio State. Will Howard is gone after this season, and with Ryan Day protecting his job with everything he has, he’d much rather have Milroe throwing the ball next year, than five-star freshman Julian Sayin. Milroe would have weapons better than what he had in Tuscaloosa. If Will Howard can see a 30% increase in passing yards and touchdowns going from Kansas State to the Buckeyes, what sort of numbers could an SEC quarterback put up? Plus, Milroe would get a chance to finally beat Michigan, which would make Day and the alumni extremely happy.
There is still a chance that Milroe pulls his name back, and plays next year. It would be better for his development, better for his future earnings, and better for his immediate earnings. Time will tell, but for right now, his current decision might be the biggest mistake of his young life.
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
