Unlike others, Diego Pavia is once again taking an unconventional path. Despite being named as one of the most polarizing prospects of 2026, the word around the college football realm is that Diego Pavia is heading into this year’s draft without an agent to save a dime or so, and for maybe good reason. At least that’s what he reckons!
“You know, I’m coming back. Let’s find a fair number that I could come back for. And so we worked it out,” Diego Pavia said of his negotiation tactics on Jon Gruden’s show. Before he could say anything further, the Super Bowl-winning HC stopped him with a question: “And are you representing yourself, or do you have an agent?”
Pavia doubled down and stood his ground: “No, I’m representing myself. So I didn’t think it was fair that someone was gonna represent me and take five to 10%. Ain’t nobody taking my money, I’ll tell you that.”
Jon Gruden was in utter disbelief. Quite apparently, it was hard to tell whether he was pissed or actually impressed: “It’s unbelievable for a young guy to be able to do this, man… this is great.”
NEW: Diego Pavia DOESN’T have an agent representing him:
Pavia: “I didn’t think it was fair that someone was going to represent me and take 5-10%… ain’t nobody taking my money.”
pic.twitter.com/ZK1bBGaAzL
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) April 7, 2026
Basically, Pavia decided to cut out the middleman to save on those standard 1.5% to 3% (goes up to 10% at times) commission fees. In today’s business-first NFL world, it’s quite unheard of. Although there have been some exceptions, like Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Lamar famously entered the 2018 draft without an agent (represented by his mother). However, the only big difference here is that those guys were certified Heisman-winning first-rounders and arguably the best QBs of their respective classes, who were guaranteed a big rookie contracts.
Pavia, on the other hand, is a “fringe” prospect. Despite being a Heisman runner-up and the guy who took Vandy to their best season since 1970 or so, the Alabama slayer’s largely projected as a Day 3 selection (rounds 4–7) or a priority undrafted free agent (UDFA), mostly because he measured in at just under 5-foot-9 at the Indianapolis Combine and, yes, his post-regular season ‘immaturity.’
Some of the NFL scouts and analysts think he’s hurting his draft stock by not having a professional PR team to “smooth over” his image. At this point, safe to say that he’s taking a very big financial risk by going solo without that first-round safety net like Lamar and Caleb. Matter of fact, he might even actually end up losing more dimes than he insisted on saving. But then again, you can’t drag a trying-man down for standing upto his beliefs.
To make sure he wasn’t getting fleeced by the fine print, Pavia actually enrolled in a Law Master’s in Legal Studies program at Vanderbilt. In his defense, he wanted to be able to read the fine print himself so he wouldn’t miss out on any opportunities or get taken advantage of. Not to mention, Pavia might seem like he knows what he’s doing when it comes to saving his money.
Despite being one of the biggest college stars, Pavia says he doesn’t even touch most of his earnings. Instead, he sends “every dime” home to his mother to manage. So yeah, you could say he knows a thing or two about the art of investing. However, there’s still a lot more work left to do for the SEC QB when it comes to prepping for the NFL.
Diego Pavia’s way to the NFL
To handle the pre-draft heat, Pavia has been seeking advice from some heavy hitters. He recently did a session for Jon Gruden’s “QB Class.” The former Super Bowl coach gave him some blunt “tough love” about protecting himself better when he runs. On top of that, he’s also been getting one-on-one mentorship from Johnny Manziel himself, who knows quite a thing or two about being a polarizing, undersized playmaker.
Now, we’ll see if this gamble pays off when the draft kicks off in Pittsburgh on April 23. Note this: he did eventually bring in some pro help from sports agency firm First Round Management to handle the actual NFL transition. Whether he gets drafted late or signed as a free agent, going some extreme heights to save some money, regardless of what the “experts” think.
