Kamario Taylor is set to stay at Mississippi State, and the number attached to that decision is massive.
USA TODAY confirmed on Nov. 11 that the star quarterback is finalizing a deal to return to the Bulldogs for the 2027 season. The agreement is expected to be worth at least $7 million.
Taylor will be a junior next season and won’t be eligible for the NFL draft until 2028, but his return already gives Mississippi State a centerpiece to build around. He’s from Macon, grew up a Bulldogs fan, and after his 2026 breakout, he’s positioned to be one of the top players in college football next season.
That breakout came fast. In his first year as Mississippi State’s starter, Taylor helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 4-0 start and quickly entered the Heisman Trophy conversation. He opened the season by leading MSU to a 62-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe, then kept stacking statement performances.
The Bulldogs rolled at Minnesota, 38-13, and then pulled off one of the biggest wins of Jeff Lebby’s tenure by beating South Carolina 41-34 on the road after falling behind 16-0. Taylor followed that with the game-winner against Missouri, throwing the deciding touchdown with 3:57 left in a 31-24 victory. Mississippi State climbed as high as No. 16 in the US LBM Coaches Poll before everything changed.
Taylor was injured in the Sept. 26 win over Missouri, tried to play through it, and eventually had season-ending foot surgery on Oct. 28. Since then, Mississippi State has dropped five straight games.
The Bulldogs are 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the SEC heading into their Nov. 14 matchup with Auburn at Davis Wade Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
“We’re always talking about retention,” Lebby said on Nov. 9 when asked about the status of negotiations with Taylor. “We’re going to continue to talk about that huge piece of it and we’re right in the middle of those things right now.”
Taylor’s 2026 numbers show how quickly he became the engine of the offense: a 65.4% completion rate, 1,460 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, 147 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
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Mississippi States QB Future Just Became A Massive Talking Point
Mississippi States quarterback conversation has taken on a different kind of weight, with Kamario Taylor reportedly finalizing a name, image and likeness deal tied to the 2027 season that would put him in a financial tier college football has never really seen before. The number alone is enough to turn heads around Starkville, but it also underscores how quickly the market for proven quarterbacks has escalated as programs chase stability at the sports most important position.
The reported figure would arrive after Miamis Darian Mensah landed a $6.5 million NIL contract for the 2026 season, another sign that experienced college quarterbacks are becoming premium assets. For Mississippi State, Taylors situation is bigger than one contract headline. It is part of a broader shift in how quarterbacks are valued, and it raises the stakes for what the Bulldogs can build around him if the deal is completed as expected. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Faces One Auburn Problem That Could Decide Everything
Auburn comes into its matchup with Mississippi State at 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the SEC after a win over Arkansas, while the Bulldogs are trying to stop a five-game skid that has left them 4-5 overall and 2-5 in league play. It is the kind of late-season SEC meeting where both teams are searching for something solid to hang onto, and for Mississippi State, the attention quickly turns to how it handles Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown.
Brown has become the central concern because of the pressure he can put on a defense that has already had plenty to sort through during this losing streak. Auburn has not exactly been a model of consistency either, which makes the game feel even more volatile, but Mississippi State knows the quarterback matchup could tilt everything if it cannot find a clean answer. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Just Got A Huge Sign About Its QB Future
Kamario Taylors Mississippi State future has suddenly become a lot clearer, and it points well beyond the present season. The sophomore quarterback was lost in September and ruled out for the rest of 2026, but before the injury he had already helped the Bulldogs race to a 4-0 start, giving the program a real glimpse of what its offense can look like with him at the controls.
Now, according to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Taylor is reportedly finalizing a deal to return to Mississippi State for the 2027 season. For a team trying to build around a young quarterback with NFL-level upside, that is the kind of development that can shape roster planning and expectations for years to come, especially with Taylor viewed as a potential top pick in the 2028 NFL Draft. [Read more 🡒]