Los Angeles Rams’ star player turns down $400K deal to play for FSU football.
Prior to becoming a second-round choice in the 2024 NFL Draft, Braden Fiske was one of the most sought-after defensive lineman to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal ahead of his last season of collegiate football. Some of the country’s premier programs participated in his transfer recruiting, but he finally selected the Seminoles over USC and Notre Dame.
It was a struggle till the end, with the Trojans and Fighting Irish each hosting Fiske for formal visits prior to his choice. In fact, his travel to Los Angeles followed his visit to Florida State. The weather and Lincoln Riley’s growing program were not the only considerations when deciding whether to move to USC. There was also a large NIL offer on the table.
During an appearance on ‘Bussin’ With The Boys’, hosted by Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, Fiske stated that USC provided him the highest monetary offer he got as a graduate transfer. The amount ended up being around $400,000.
“Yeah, there was a little money on the table,” Fiske said on the show. “I certainly could’ve made more going to USC, but it just depends. But it’s fucking dodgy. “Bruh, this is the wild west.”
“It was upwards of like $400K, it was in that range, like, you know, between two and four,” Fiske said.
The visit to USC was extravagant and the money on the table was hard to pass up. In the end, Fiske decided to bet on himself and it clearly paid off in the end.
“No, That was more like when I was on campus and like they do it crazy out there. They tried to put you up in the high-rise apartment like 36th floor. All that sounds nice but I’m thinking of my last year of college ball, I’m like ‘I need to lock the f–k in.’ I’ve been here for six years, I got to get up out of here, try to make something happen. All that sounded cool, I’m looking out seeing LA but real deep down I’m like ‘this just ain’t for me.’ I need this townhome over here on Hayden Road. I need to make it happen. A little more gritty, I’m the big blue-collar guy, right? That’s my label.”
Fiske recorded 43 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and six sacks while helping Florida State to its first ACC Championship since 2014. He was named Second-Team All-ACC before dominating the pre-draft process and climbing up boards to hear his named called by the Los Angeles Rams.
Paired up with FSU teammate Jared Verse and a 4-year/$9.4M contract, Fiske sleeps just fine at night over the couple of dollars he gave up in college.
