Kansas City Chiefs may have ruined Jack Pyburn's plan to make big money at LSU by giving him a job in the NFL

Folks who track such things last week were estimating that Jack Pyburn could make around $1 million in 2026 if he was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and allowed to return to college at LSU.

Except, well, the Kansas City Chiefs had other plans.

The Chiefs on Monday afternoon claimed the linebacker off waivers from the Bucs, per the NFL waiver wire.

That means Pyburn's NFL career continues as a member of the Chiefs' 53-man roster.

NCAA CREATED THIS MESS, NOW LSU SET TO MAKE DAE’QUAN WRIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S FIRST NFL RETURNEE It also means Pyburn is seemingly headed for a pay cut by being in the NFL rather than back in college.

Yes, crazy world.

Pyburn's rookie salary is scheduled to be $885,000.

And that is less than the $1 million he was expected to make in college.

So we have reached the critical juncture where the NIL rules and countless court filings and rulings on eligibility have turned college football into something of a financial competitor for the NFL in the case of some players.

MATT RHULE SOUNDS ALARM ON NFL RETURNEES, $45 MILLION ROSTERS AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S PAYROLL PROBLEM It's been that way before.

There have been examples where quarterbacks forego their final years in college and the sizeable pay they might have earned in that season, and go to the NFL to take a financial shave.

But that's quarterbacks.

Stars.

And it is their choice to start what promises to be a lucrative career longterm.