20 college football players who should be highly paid in 2017

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Sam Darnold No. 14 of the USC Trojans looks to pass the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

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ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 31: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball against the LSU Tigers during the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. LSU defeated Louisville 29-9. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

The defending Heisman Trophy winner is set to put up more video game-like numbers in 2017, making him one of the highest perspective earners in the nation.

Jackson committed to Louisville with fairly high expectations as a four-star recruit, but was still not considered a top 10 quarterback prospect in the class of 2015. It became quite clear those projections were a little light early on, as Jackson showed plenty of promise with 1,900 total yards and 23 touchdowns in eight starts as a true freshman.

Loaded with raw talent and athleticism, Jackson entered the 2016 season with plenty of hype and got off to an impossibly fast start with 23 touchdowns in Louisville’s first four games. Jackson finished the year by becoming the first FBS player with 3,300 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in a single season and accounted for 51 total touchdowns to just nine interceptions.

Even with somewhat of a fade over the last three games of the season, Jackson’s status as the Heisman frontrunner was never in serious doubt, and he has a decent chance to repeat in 2017. Louisville’s offensive line was atrocious at times and Jackson will be working with a new group of players at the skill positions, but will put up more huge numbers no matter what thanks to absurd ability in the open field and outstanding arm strength.

Again, there isn’t a good comparison to Jackson at the NFL level other than perhaps peak Michael Vick or rookie Robert Griffin III. Jackson’s sheer numbers alone would generate a huge $24 million price tag in 2017, a similar number to fellow statistically prolific signal caller Drew Brees.

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