It’s October, which means we’re approaching that wonderful time of year in college football when the games are still being played, but everyone is already trying to figure out who will be playing somewhere else next season.
That’s right. Tampering season is back.
The transfer portal won’t officially open until January, but according to a report from On3’s Pete Nakos, the conversations that will help shape college football rosters in 2027 are already underway.
And some of those conversations sound awfully familiar.
One SEC front office staffer told Nakos that the parent of a Big Ten quarterback had already reached out to gauge the program’s interest. Another agent reportedly spent a weekend contacting nearly every ACC school to discuss quarterback situations and potential opportunities for clients.
The QB transfer portal could feature significant movement. Schools and agents are already gauging the market.
"I have a guy who is currently starting in the SEC, and I couldn’t tell you what is going to happen in that quarterback room next year."
Read: https://t.co/LTIziMa5Vo https://t.co/Dw0ufacuXx
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) October 22, 2026
Several quarterbacks are negotiating with their current programs, while others are weighing their options for next season.
And the money being discussed is substantial. Sources told On3 that the top quarterbacks in the next portal cycle could command somewhere between $4 million and $7 million.
Remember, it’s still October.
There’s an important distinction between discussing a player’s future and actually breaking NCAA tampering rules. A quarterback negotiating with his current school isn’t doing anything improper simply by trying to secure his future.
But agents shopping players to competing programs before those players have entered the portal? That’s where things can get interesting.
And if last offseason taught us anything, it’s that college football’s transfer market has no shortage of interesting situations.
Ole Miss fans certainly remember one of them.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made national headlines in January when he publicly accused Ole Miss and Pete Golding of tampering with linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
Ferrelli had transferred from California to Clemson, enrolled in classes and begun participating in team activities before ultimately leaving for Ole Miss.
Swinney accused Golding of improperly contacting Ferrelli after he had joined Clemson and submitted his allegations to the NCAA.
Golding maintained that there were two sides to the story. The allegations prompted an NCAA investigation, and Swinney said in September that he hadn’t received an update on the matter.
It was one of the more memorable controversies of an offseason that featured plenty of transfer portal drama.
And now, with more than two months remaining before the next portal window opens, the groundwork is apparently already being laid for another round.
Perhaps the most amusing part of all this is that nobody around college football should be particularly surprised.
At SEC Media Days in July, Golding made an observation about the entire recruiting process that seems especially appropriate now.
“Let’s also not act like recruiting in college football over the last 100 years has been the most moral thing that has ever existed. What are we talking about here?”
Regardless of anyone’s opinion about the Ferrelli situation, it’s difficult to ignore the larger point about how college football operates.
Players want to know what opportunities are available. Agents want to maximize those opportunities. Programs want to know which players they might be able to acquire.
And everyone wants a head start on the competition.
The result is an unofficial recruiting season that begins well before the official one, with rumors, negotiations, accusations and potentially more NCAA investigations along the way.
Maybe this winter won’t produce another public confrontation quite like the one between Swinney and Golding.
But with millions of dollars at stake and agents already making calls around the country, it would be surprising if the next portal cycle arrived without its share of controversy.
