The SEC's Most Valuable Transfers of 2026, Ranked by NIL Value

Updated 2026-07-30

Lane Kiffin needed a quarterback, a left tackle and an edge rusher for his first season at LSU. He bought all three out of the transfer portal, and two of them now carry the largest NIL valuations of any transfers in the SEC. Across the conference, programs treated the 2026 portal cycle like a free agency period, and the money followed.

Below are the highest-valued players who changed schools within, into or around the SEC for the 2026 season, ranked by their current valuation in our database. We show ranges here rather than exact figures. Each player's page carries the specific number, the projected range and the four-pillar breakdown behind it. Valuations blend figures published by services such as On3 and The NIL Standard with our own modeled estimates. Unless a deal is noted as reported, treat every number as an estimate, not a confirmed contract.

The top 12 SEC transfers by NIL value

1. Sam Leavitt, quarterback, Arizona State to LSU. Range: $3.5 million to $4.5 million. Leavitt broke out in Tempe, entered the portal as the cycle's most coveted passer and landed with Kiffin in Baton Rouge, where he carries a reported top-five NIL valuation among all college athletes.
2. Jordan Seaton, offensive tackle, Colorado to LSU. Range: $3.5 million to $4.5 million. Seaton started at left tackle from his true freshman season in Boulder and was among the most pursued linemen in the portal. He protects Leavitt's blind side, which explains the price.
3. Byrum Brown, quarterback, USF to Auburn. Range: $2.6 million to $3.4 million. Brown threw for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns at USF in 2025, then followed head coach Alex Golesh to the Plains in January for his final year of eligibility.
4. Cam Coleman, wide receiver, Auburn to Texas. Range: $2.5 million to $3.3 million. The highest-rated player in the entire portal cycle. Coleman caught 56 passes for 708 yards at Auburn in 2025, entered the portal after Hugh Freeze's firing and committed to Texas in January. He has since signed a Nike deal.
5. Kenny Minchey, quarterback, Notre Dame to Kentucky. Range: $1.7 million to $2.3 million. Minchey lost a tight competition to CJ Carr in South Bend. He becomes Kentucky's fifth transfer starter at quarterback in six seasons and the first under new head coach Will Stein.
6. Lance Heard, offensive tackle, Tennessee to Kentucky. Range: $1.7 million to $2.3 million. A former five-star who began his career at LSU, Heard earned third-team All-SEC honors in Knoxville and arrives in Lexington as a preseason All-SEC pick. On3 rated him the No. 3 tackle in the portal.
7. Aaron Philo, quarterback, Georgia Tech to Florida. Range: $1.3 million to $1.7 million. Philo followed offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Atlanta to Gainesville and is battling Tramell Jones Jr. for the starting job under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall.
8. Princewill Umanmielen, edge rusher, Ole Miss to LSU. Range: $1.3 million to $1.7 million. Umanmielen followed Kiffin from Oxford and was one of the highest-rated defensive players available in the cycle.
9. Wilkin Formby, offensive tackle, Alabama to Texas A&M. Range: $1.2 million to $1.65 million. The 6-foot-7, 324-pound Formby started 14 games for the Crimson Tide in 2025 and arrived in College Station in January with two seasons of eligibility left.
10. Melvin Siani, offensive tackle, Wake Forest to Texas. Range: $1.1 million to $1.5 million. Siani has not allowed a sack in 853 career pass-blocking snaps across stops at Temple and Wake Forest. Texas projects him at right tackle.
11. Tyree Adams, offensive tackle, LSU to Texas A&M. Range: $1 million to $1.4 million. Adams started nine games at left tackle for LSU in 2025 and allowed one sack. The Aggies added him and Formby to rebuild both edges of their line in one cycle.
12. Jordan Norman, edge rusher, Tulane to Tennessee. Range: $950,000 to $1.25 million. Norman, who began his career at South Alabama, projects as the Volunteers' starting Leo rusher.

What the list says about the market

Five of these 12 play offensive tackle. That is not an accident. Pass protection is the scarcest skill in the portal, the position takes years to develop, and a proven college starter is worth more to an SEC contender than a projection. Quarterbacks still set the ceiling, but the middle of the SEC transfer market in 2026 belonged to linemen.

Auburn is the story inside the story. The Tigers hired a quarterback from USF and lost the cycle's most valuable player to Texas, then watched receiver Eric Singleton Jr. leave for Florida after a team-leading 58 catches. Coaching change, roster churn, and a portal market that reprices a program in weeks.

Just outside the list: Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles, an All-ACC pick at Pitt who posted 100 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2025 and projects as the Longhorns' starting Money linebacker, plus LSU's Jordan Ross (from Tennessee) and Texas A&M's CJ Mims (from North Carolina), all in the neighborhood of seven figures.

Look up the exact numbers

Every player above has a full profile with his current valuation, projected range and the breakdown behind it. Browse the database or look up any athlete in the calculator, including players who have not hit the portal yet.

Ranges reflect current valuations in our database as of late July 2026. They are estimates of 12 month earning potential, not confirmed salaries or contract amounts, and they move as roles and markets change.

Sources

• On3 NIL Valuations
• On3 Transfer Portal rankings
• The NIL Standard team valuations