Taulia Tagovailoa's transfer to a new SEC program could have earned him $1.5 million: Reports

Maryland Terrapins prospect Taulia Tagovailoa decided to forego a chance to declare for this year's NFL draft to play out his last year of eligibility with them.

During the Big Ten media days, Tagovailoa made a startling declaration about a program that wanted to sign him up for his last season of eligibility, and claimed that he was offered up to $1.5 million to join an unnamed SEC (Southeastern Conference) football program.

He admitted that if his circumstances were different, he might have been tempted to take the money as most student-athletes would. He said:

“It can be eye-opening, but I think for my situation — if I was in a different situation where maybe I didn’t have a brother in the NFL or maybe my parents, it’d be a different situation.”

Tagovailoa's Maryland football coach, Mike Locksley, admitted to having sleepless nights as long as the transfer portal was open for fear of losing his star prospect. He said:

“I knocked on wood before the spring game and many of ya’ll didn’t understand what I was saying,” Locksley said. “You hear the rumors, you know some of the things are going on out there behind the scenes. No, I was not comfortable until I saw him run out after that portal window closed up. But even then, a guy that’s a graduate can still leave and go play somewhere. I haven’t had a lot of nights of great sleep.”

Taulia Tagovailoa's football family legacy

Taulia Tagovailoa is the younger brother of NFL player Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins. The brothers played together for the Alabama Crimson Tide under legendary coach, Nick Saban.

Tua Tagovailoa was on the wrong end of a big hit last year, when Josh Tupou of the Cincinnati Bengals slammed into him.Taulia was immediately concerned about his brother and threatened to miss a game against Michigan due to his brother's condition.

His honest reply about the incident earned him a lot of goodwill. He said:

“I wanted to go to my family and not play the game, but that would be very selfish of me, just because we put in hard work together. I know how much my team needs me. That’s also my family, too. "Friday, I didn’t want to play the game. Friday night, I was excited to play the game.”

It is expected that Taulia Tagovailoa will be drafted next year and join his brother in the NFL. His coach, Mike Locksley definitely believes that he has the talent to become one of the greats.

“I think he’ll have a chance to be one of the best, not just in the Big Ten, but in the country. I know he’s hungry to help us and take the next big step for our program and we wouldn’t be where we were today if it wasn’t for Taulia.”

NFL scouts just scored one aspect in favor of Taulia Tagovailoa. Loyalty.