{"id":590525,"date":"2026-04-08T15:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/590525\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:58:10","slug":"diego-pavia-announces-unexpected-decision-ahead-of-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/590525\/","title":{"rendered":"Diego Pavia Announces Unexpected Decision Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"67\">According to this guy&#8217;s attitude, it&#8217;s Diego Pavia&#8217;s world, and we&#8217;re all just living in it. Soon-to-be but not-for-long pro quarterback Diego Pavia will enter the 2026 draft without an agent. The already veteran signal-caller, who is older than Cam Ward, J.J. McCarthy, Anthony Richardson and Drake Maye, confirmed he will handle his own rookie contract negotiations.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6a\">Pavia gained national attention two seasons ago, leading Vanderbilt to an upset victory over Alabama. His performance as a dual-threat quarterback in the SEC elevated his profile among professional scouts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/08\/sports\/polarizing-qb-diego-pavia-isnt-hiring-an-agent-before-nfl-draft\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">decision to represent himself<\/a> allows Pavia to avoid standard commission fees. He is opting to keep as much of his professional earnings as he can as he transitions from the collegiate level.<\/p>\n<p>Diego Pavia NFL Draft representation<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">Pavia, who appeared on Jon Gruden&#8217;s QB Class, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/college\/cfb-hq\/news\/jon-gruden-issues-blunt-advice-diego-pavia-weeks-2026-nfl-draft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">credits his experience<\/a> with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals for his readiness to manage his professional business. He seems to believe the skills acquired in the college market are sufficient for NFL negotiations.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was fair that someone was going to represent me and take 5 to 10 percent. Ain\u2019t nobody taking my money, I\u2019ll tell you that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">By forgoing an agent, Pavia avoids the three percent commission typically deducted from rookie contracts. This financial move is noteworthy for a player projected as a mid-to-late round selection.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">Pavia stated he is comfortable speaking directly with NFL front offices. He expects his on-field production and leadership traits to serve him well during the evaluation process.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knpr9nbaxa3qtyzwsf.jpg\" alt=\"Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia\" title=\"Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia\" width=\"5571\" height=\"3133\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"75\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia will enter the professional ranks without an agent. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">While players like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson have managed their own deals, it remains rare for a prospect to do so. Pavia is relying on his personal preparation and understanding of the collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">Most projections place him in the sixth or seventh round as a low-ceiling, high-floor backup candidate.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">His draft stock is tied to his success in the SEC against elite defenses. Teams looking for mobile quarterbacks have identified Pavia as a competitive option for their training camp rosters. How he would fare against the NFL&#8217;s best remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">This decision reflects a shift as college athletes enter the pros with years of business experience. If Pavia is successful, other high-profile prospects may choose to bypass traditional agencies.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7l\">The 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to this guy&#8217;s attitude, it&#8217;s Diego Pavia&#8217;s world, and we&#8217;re all just living in it. Soon-to-be but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-590525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}