20 college football players who should be highly paid in 2017

3. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

While it’s unclear how Mayfield’s style might translate to the next level, there’s no doubt he would garner a huge contract as an elite college quarterback.

A three-star recruit out of Lake Travis High School in Austin, Mayfield was ranked outside of the top 40 quarterback prospects in the class of 2013. With few offers from Division I schools, Mayfield joined Texas Tech and threw for 2,315 yards and 12 touchdowns while reportedly becoming the first true freshman walk-on to start a season opener at quarterback in college football history.

Citing a lack of communication with the Red Raiders coaching staff, Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma, where he has thrived over the past two seasons. One year after leading the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, Mayfield accumulated over 4,000 total yards and 46 touchdowns to eight interceptions to finish third in the Heisman voting.

Mayfield’s production on the ground fell off in 2016, but few quarterbacks in the nation are better at improvising in the pocket to couple with great accuracy, particularly on short throws. While losing Westbrook and Mixon would be too much for most offenses to overcome, the Sooners should feel comfortable enough with such a dynamic playmaker in Mayfield returning under center.

There’s no great current NFL comparison to Mayfield, and his game will remind many of Johnny Manziel. Still, there are only a handful of better quarterbacks at the college level, so Mayfield would become one of the highest-paid signal callers in the game with a $22 million deal.