Kamario Taylor is headed back to Mississippi State, and the price tag is staggering.
According to On3Sports, the Bulldogs quarterback is set to finalize a new deal that will keep him in Starkville in 2027 and make him one of the highest-paid players in college football. Per On3’s Chris Low and Pete Nakos, the agreement is worth $7.5 million per year and could climb to as much as $9 million with incentives.
For Mississippi State, it’s a massive commitment to a player who flashed star power early in 2026 before a turf toe injury derailed his season. Taylor, who entered the year as the Bulldogs’ full-time starter, helped Mississippi State jump out to a 4-0 start and quickly put himself in the Heisman conversation.
In those first four games, he threw for 1,192 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions as Mississippi State beat Louisiana-Monroe, Minnesota on the road, South Carolina and then-No. 19 Missouri.
That win over Missouri pushed Mississippi State to No. 16 in the country heading into its matchup with Alabama, and Taylor was being talked about as a dark horse Heisman candidate. But the injury hit during that Missouri game. He stayed on the field, then battled through a visibly compromised performance in the Bulldogs’ 56-23 loss to Alabama, where he was sacked five times, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble early.
Taylor was pulled in the fourth quarter and did not return. He sat out the next game at LSU on Oct. 17, then tried to play through the issue again in a 23-14 loss to Oklahoma before being replaced by backup Billy Parker Puckett.
Mississippi State later announced on Oct. 27 that Taylor would undergo season-ending surgery on the toe. ESPN reported that he pushed hard to keep playing, but getting healthy enough to be effective ultimately 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 return also shuts down any speculation that he might look elsewhere after his breakout start. The Macon, Mississippi, native grew up as a lifelong Bulldogs fan, but after his hot beginning to the season, there was plenty of chatter about whether he could enter the portal.
Instead, Mississippi State locked him in with a deal that could reshape the financial landscape around the program.
Here’s how Taylor’s numbers stack up at Mississippi State:
2025: 55.8% completions, 629 passing yards, 5 passing TDs, 1 interception, 458 rushing yards, 8 rushing TDs
2026: 65.4% completions, 1,460 passing yards, 17 passing TDs, 4 interceptions, 147 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
Taylor’s reported payday would even clear Miami quarterback Darian Mensah when compared with some of the biggest NIL deals in college football this season, though the exact spot he’ll hold among 2027 returners isn’t known.
Now Mississippi State gets its quarterback back, and Taylor gets the chance to lead the Bulldogs in search of a winning season under Jeff Lebby for the first time.
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