Taulia Tagovailoa Says He Was Offered $1.5M to Transfer from Maryland by SEC Team

Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the brother of Miami Dolphins signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa, was offered “crazy money” to transfer to an unnamed SEC school ahead of the 2023 season.

Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday at Big Ten media day that an SEC school offered him $1.5 million to transfer but he declined the opportunity, per The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder.

“It can be eye-opening, but I think for my situation—if I was in a different situation where maybe I didn’t have a brother in the NFL or maybe my parents, it’d be a different situation,” Tagovailoa said.

Tagovailoa added that he consulted Tua about the offer before making the decision to stay at Maryland.

“It would be hard for me to go to another place and not be happy but have all the money in the world,” Tagovailoa said. “(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.”

Although Tagovailoa opted to return, Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley acknowledged that he wasn’t certain whether the signal-caller was coming back until it was too late for him to transfer.

“You hear the rumors, you know some of the things are going on out there behind the scenes,” Locksley said. “No, I was not comfortable until I saw him run out after that portal window closed up. But even then, a guy that’s a graduate can still leave and go play somewhere. I haven’t had a lot of nights of great sleep.”

It’s no surprise an SEC team reached out to Tagovailoa, especially with the way the transfer portal has evolved since the NCAA made it possible for athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Tagovailoa spent his freshman season at Alabama—an SEC program—before transferring to Maryland ahead of the 2020 season. Once Tua declared for the 2020 NFL draft, Tagovailoa felt that it was time for him to get a fresh start with the Terrapins.

The 23-year-old is coming off an impressive 2022 campaign, completing 67 percent of his passes for 3,008 yards and 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 12 games, in addition to rushing for 64 yards and four scores.

Maryland finished the season 8-5, including a win in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against NC State.

Tagovailoa enters 2023 with high expectations as he aims to improve his NFL draft stock from a likely mid-round pick.