Carson Beck set for multimillion dollar pay cut after being drafted

The Arizona Cardinals have drafted former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck with the No. 65 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Arizona drafted Beck, who spent the final season of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, with the first pick of the third-round.

Beck helped lead the Hurricanes all the way to the national championship. He threw a game-sealing interception in Miami's 27-21 national title loss to Indiana.

Beck, 23, has the talent to compete for the starting role in Arizona. The Cardinals are far from an ideal situation for Beck. Arizona went just 3-14 in 2025 and held just three opponents under 20 points. Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett played well down the stretch for the Cardinals, but that did not translate to wins. Brissett is projected to be the Cardinals' starter in 2026, but Beck could step in later in the season.

If Beck is forced to start, then he'll be in one of the worst situations in football. The Cardinals have a lot of holes on their roster and play in the NFL's best division.

During the 2025 season with Miami, Beck passed for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Beck spent the first five seasons of his six-year college career at Georgia from 2020-2024. He started at Georgia in 2024 and 2025.

Beck is a rare case study of the name, image and likeness era. He made at at Miami in 2025 and that number was possibly much closer to $6 million when factoring in incentives. In the NFL, Beck make $1.34 million as a rookie. That's quite a pay cut.