Lower than every week after he was surprisingly not chosen through the 2026 NFL Draft, former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has agreed to a three-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
The news comes a day after Pavia, 24, was invited to attend the Ravens’ rookie minicamp alongside former UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano. Baltimore also gave Fagnano, 25, a three-year deal, hoping the 2 would enter camp on equal footing, in response to ESPN.
Undrafted free agent contracts are price no less than the league minimum over three years. For 2026, meaning Pavia and Fagnano will on the very least make $885,000 — if no more. It’s not a nasty payday, but for Pavia, it’s a big drop from what he made in name, image and likeness deals at Vanderbilt last yr — $2.5 million, in response to Yahoo Sports.
He and Fagnano will compete to play behind Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley.
Over the weekend, Pavia became the primary Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted since 2014 despite averaging 334.8 total yards per game last yr — the second best mark within the FBS. Vanderbilt also went 10-3, cutting it in need of the College Football Playoff.
Amid the frustration of not being drafted, Pavia had one NFL legend in his corner. University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders posted an encouraging message to the young athlete via X after the last draft pick was called.
“@diegopavia02 I BELIEVE IN YOU MY MAN!,” he wrote on Saturday, April 25. “Stay strong and don’t let up. Show them what time it’s and never allow them to forget. Much Love & God bless you.”
While Pavia’s small stature arguably didn’t help his draft prospects, draft experts speculated that his stock could have been hurt by his quite a few off-field controversies. Asked on the NFL Draft Mix if teams had mentioned his social media posts, Pavia told reporters they’d not.
Vanderbilt’s standout quarterback Diego Pavia put together a formidable college football season, which earned him a spot as a 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist. He finished the regular season with 3,192 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions. Pavia also ran for 826 yards and nine touchdowns on the bottom, leading the Commodores to […]
“I just think, not that they don’t care or whatever, but they sort of know the situation already,” he said.
Pavia continued, “One thing about me is I don’t care what people take into consideration me. God has a plan for me regardless. But the way in which the media is, they’re purported to put out clickbait and things like that. That’s how people get views, and that’s how people generate income. I understand that. And so people will twist a story and check out to place out bad media to get clicks, good media to get clicks. That’s just today’s world that we live in. So I’m just adjusting to the brand new world.”
The Ravens’ rookie minicamp is scheduled to start on Friday, May 1.