Cam Coleman is going to be a very rich man playing wideout for the Texas Longhorns during the 2026 season. Coleman committed to UT Austin on Sunday, officially ending his career on the Plains and in his home state after two years.
Per On3's Shannon Terry, Coleman is reportedly making between $3 million and $3.5 million. Terry also revealed that the Alabama Crimson Tide, who Coleman visited while sporting Auburn Tigers gear, was never in the mix.
"I haven't heard the details yet, but I would think Texas paid $3 to $ 3.5 million for Coleman, maybe more. I doubt Alabama was ever in the ballpark," Terry said.
"The number last week was min $3M (confirmed), plus the payment to go visit Alabama. The rumor on the street is $4M (unconfirmed at this point). Not enough time to confirm today."
Cam Coleman didn't leave Auburn over money
Unfortunately, Tiger fans can't point to money as the reason Coleman decided to up and leave East Central Alabama for the Lone Star State's Capital city. If only it could be that simple. This was beyond the rev-share/NIL payout he'd receive.
Coleman wanted a better chance to make long-term money in the NFL by boosting his draft stock. There is no greater spotlight in College Football than being Heisman Trophy candidate Arch Manning's most physical wideout threat. There are many better spotlights than one shared with Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels, or Payton Thorne.
It may not be a total loss for AU, though, as good as Coleman is.
Coleman was part of a culture that Alex Golesh wanted to eradicate upon his hiring this past November. On3's Jake Crain told me that Coleman didn't practice hard and was part of the locker room-wide malaise that slowed the team down in 2024 and 2025; a malaise that was born of Hugh Freeze allowing the highest-paid players to do what they want while having a double standard with others.
"Hugh Freeze was more into feelings and more into ... look, you want to make good people. Obviously, being a good person is one of the most important things, but you're not being paid $8 million to put a Boy Scout troop together. You're getting paid $8 million to win football games, and you can't do that with the culture and identity that he has," Crain told me.
"It's easy to see it because Auburn collapsed in every big moment, basically, during his tenure. And that's not a coincidence. That's not by accident. That is something that is cultivated, and that's why when you see these guys reading, like, I've never, and I'm not saying Cam Coleman isn't talented. He's talented, but he didn't practice hard. Like, these guys, it doesn't work in this sport.
"This isn't basketball. This isn't baseball, where you can go out there and one guy can out-talent everybody. That's not it. Look at Indiana. They're talented, but they're not more talented than Ohio State. They're not more talented than these teams that are beaten to death. It's that culture. It's that togetherness. It's that program-defining characteristic that helps you and makes that difference on fourth and one, and Auburn just didn't have that. They were too busy worrying about whether everybody was just okay. Does everybody just be okay? You can't do that at this level."
Whatever happens with Coleman in Texas, there's a history of not getting the return on your investment for him. Auburn can vouch for that, painful as it is for the family to admit.