Kamario Taylor is headed back to Starkville, and the price tag is staggering.
According to On3Sports, Mississippi State is finalizing a new deal that will bring Taylor back in 2027 and make him one of the highest-paid players in college football. The report says the agreement is worth $7.5 million per year, with incentives that could push it to as much as $9 million.
Taylor’s return comes after a season that flashed big-time potential before a turf toe injury shut him down. He had opened 2026 with a surge of momentum, helping Mississippi State race to a 4-0 start and drawing early Heisman buzz along the way.
The Bulldogs beat Louisiana-Monroe, Minnesota on the road, South Carolina and then-No. 19 Missouri before the injury changed everything.
He was in the middle of that Missouri win when the toe issue first surfaced, though he stayed in the game. Mississippi State then fell 56-23 to Alabama, where Taylor played through the injury, was sacked five times and threw two interceptions while also losing a fumble early. He was pulled in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Taylor missed the Oct. 17 game at LSU, then tried to gut it out the following week in a 23-14 loss to Oklahoma before being replaced by backup Billy Parker Puckett. On Oct. 27, the school announced he would undergo season-ending surgery on the toe injury. ESPN reported that Taylor pushed hard to keep playing, but getting healthy enough to be effective won out.
“Nobody wants to be on that field more than Kamario,” Bulldog head coach Jeff Lebby said via ESPN. “I know how much this team means to him, and how much he means to this team. We’ll be right there with him throughout his recovery.
“He’s the ultimate teammate and competitor. ... You see it in the work he’s put in and the way our players and coaches believe in him the way they do.”
Taylor’s path back to Mississippi State also quiets the speculation that followed his fast start. The Macon, Mississippi, native grew up a lifelong Bulldog fan, but after the way he opened the season, some wondered whether he might enter the portal and move on elsewhere.
Instead, Mississippi State locked in its quarterback with a deal that could reshape the program’s financial ceiling at the position. Taylor will return as a junior in 2027, with the Bulldogs hoping he can help deliver a winning season in Starkville for the first time under Jeff Lebby.
Taylor’s numbers tell the story of a player on the rise. In 2025, he completed 55.8% of his passes for 629 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while adding 458 rushing yards and eight rushing scores. In 2026, he jumped to 65.4% completions, 1,460 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions, plus 147 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
By the time the injury hit, he had already thrown for 1,192 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the early part of the 2026 season. And if the reported deal lands where On3 says it could, Taylor’s payday would even top Miami quarterback Darian Mensah among the biggest reported NIL figures in the sport this season.
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