In an age of college sports where it often feels like money is the sole motivator -- both at the organizational and individual level -- it's refreshing to hear that BYU football's star sophomore gunslinger, Bear Bachmeier, is bought-in with Kalani Sitake's program for reasons beyond what he finds in his bank account.
Jarom Jordan confirmed as much during a recent appearance with ESPN The Fan, where he laid out a fascinating offseason development in connection with Bachmeier.
"I was told Bear got an offer, you know, like five million bucks at a P4 school that he turned down."
Bear Bachmeier chose BYU over the money 💙
— Center Street Media (@CenterStMedia) June 30, 2026
Jarom Jordan said “I was told, Bear got an offer, you know, like 5 million bucks at a P4 school that he turned down”
(Via: @espnthefan ) pic.twitter.com/4cJBbP2zX3
Unsatisfied with the way his freshman season finished, Bachmeier returns to the starting spot on Aaron Roderick's offense with a chip on his shoulder and the goal of pushing the Cougars over that hump of the Big 12 Conference Championship -- a height that the previous two teams were unable to reach after stumbling when it mattered most.
It's all very reminiscent of Kalani Sitake's connection with Penn State last season. After firing James Franklin, the Nittany Lions quickly narrowed down their search to BYU's head coach -- publicly offering him a significant pay increase to reignite the Big Ten giant to its former glory. And they got very, very close to inking that deal officially.
But something about BYU kept Kalani home. Be it the community, his family, or the sense that the team still had some unfinished business to attend to, Sitake stayed put because he believed in what he had established in Provo.
Bachmeier's resistance to take a pay increase and bolt could mean one of two things. First, BYU could already be paying him a comparable amount -- this is the simplest explanaition. Second, and this is the one that I believe, is the idea that Bachmeier believes that he stands in a strong position to succeed with a BYU football team that approaches the upcoming season with countless returning contributors, veteran talent across the board, and perhaps a record-breaking number of players entering the NFL Draft at the end of the season.
Bachmeier holds the keys to one of the nation's best football programs -- it appears he has no plans of giving those up any time soon.
He's considered to be the best sophomore quarterback in the nation, and eyes the CFP in 2027.
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