The Brother of an Alabama Legend Offered Millions by SEC Team

The transfer portal and NIL have made the college football offseason "The Wild West." Anytime a player breaks out at a lower-level school, rumors circulate about that player transferring and capitalizing on their popularity. It happened with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, now it's happening to Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.

According to The Athletic writer Audrey Snyder at Big 10 Media Days, the brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was offered $1.5 million by an unnamed SEC school to transfer from The University of Maryland. Tagovailoa turned down the money and decided to stay in Maryland for his final year of eligibility.

Get our free mobile app

Originally, Taulia and his family were from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, but when Tua decided to enroll at The University of Alabama the entire family moved down to Alabama. Taulia played his high school football at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala. According to 247Sports, the right-handed quarterback was a four-star recruit and the fourth-best pro-style quarterback in the class of 2019.

Just like his brother, Taulia enrolled at The University of Alabama to learn under head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley. Unlike his brother, Taulia barely got on the field at Alabama and eventually lost the starting quarterback battle to Mac Jones.

He entered the portal and transferred to Maryland.

Moving to College Park, Md., was the best decision Taulia has made in his young career. In three seasons with the Terrapins, Taulia has thrown for 7,879 yards, 51 touchdowns, and has an overall record of 17-14 as a starter. Last year led by Taulia's 3,000 yards passing and 22 touchdowns, Maryland had its best season since 2010 when the team finished the year with an 8-5 record.

The numbers Taulia obviously attracted multiple schools but when talking to Snyder, Taulia stated "It would be hard for me to go to another place and not be happy but have all the money in the world. [I’d rather] be at a place where maybe I don’t have as much, but I’m happy, and I’m here to work".

Snyder also included in her article that Taulia turned down more money than some NFL quarterbacks are making. According to Snyder, Taulia could have earned more than Brock Purdy, Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell, etc. Tua's brother just proved that sometimes loyalty and happiness are more important than money.

The question now is Which SEC School Offered Taulia Tagovailoa $1.5 million to transfer?