USC quarterback Caleb Williams is living large. He’s the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, having steered the Trojans to their first 11-win season in five years in 2022. Under his stewardship, USC is 2–0 to start 2023 with easy wins over San Jose State and Nevada.
More than that, however, Williams is also touted as the potential first quarterback off the board in 2024’s NFL draft. Fans and writers are already speculating about the Williams sweepstakes as comparisons to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes abound.
However, Williams's situation is different from his forebears in a key way: he is affluent because of his college football career, thanks to relaxed NIL rules. As noted in a GQ profile of the quarterback Wednesday, this—along with his real estate developer father Carl’s disillusionment with the NFL draft—gives him considerable leverage as he looks to the future.
“The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first. The system is completely backwards,” Carl Williams told Sam Schube. “He’s got two shots at the apple … so if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”
If he were to return in 2024, Williams would be leading the Trojans in a changed college football world. USC will debut in the Big Ten next year, the first season of a ballyhooed 12-team playoff system, and will open its season against LSU in Las Vegas.
