Heading into the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Kentucky Wildcats star quarterback Will Levis was widely predicted to not only be selected in the first round but to be taken among the top-10 picks in the draft. Some mock drafts even projected him as the No. 2 overall pick. But that’s obviously not what happened as Levis fell to the second round. And that fall was quite costly.
As NFL insider Mike Florio points out, the fall from the top of the first round to the second round didn’t just hurt Levis’ ego, it also hurt his bank account in a huge way.
“It was an expensive drop for Levis. Based on 2022 contract values, the difference between No. 4 overall (Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner) and the second pick in round two (Packers receiver Christian Watson) is more than $24 million, from $33.45 million to $9.24 million,” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk on Sunday evening.
It’s some absolutely brutal news for Levis, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it on Twitter as a result.
Will Levis is experiencing the feeling when your 1st place GPP team free falls in the 9th inning pic.twitter.com/dFXSPN0UZ6
— Adam Scherer (@ShipMyMoneyDFS) April 28, 2023
I hope Will Levis ain't bought nothin really expensive yet #NFLDraft
— The BergerMeister (@MReberger) April 28, 2023
So he lost 29 million minimum tonight? My god
— WalkLee3 (@TheDankSinatra) April 28, 2023
24 million is bruuuuuutal https://t.co/VCW9f7hosO
— s (@SVanpussy69420) May 1, 2023
— JP from VP (@MrPip68) April 30, 2023
That’s a lot of Mayo
— ChiSports4Life (@ChiSportsSteve) April 30, 2023
Levis will still have a chance to prove himself and earn a big payday with his second contract in the league. But for now, the fall in the draft was extremely costly.
