Diego Pavia’s NFL career may have lasted only a few months. But it may be just the start of his career in front of a camera. The former Vanderbilt QB was waived by the Baltimore Ravens ahead of training camp, leaving the undrafted 24-year-old without an NFL roster spot. Now he is back on the market, figuring out what comes next. And judging by his recent social media activity, he may already have an idea.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
As elitecollegefootball posted, Diego Pavia appears to be leaning harder into Snapchat as an influencer. Relatively new to the platform, he has about 4,000 followers as of now. But he has been posting regularly and testing out the sort of content that has little to do with running an offense.
One post asked his followers whether he should start streaming. Another floated the idea of streaming Lobo-Aggie. Then came a more unexpected tease where he posted, “might do something WWE.” That is Diego Pavia. Even when football gets complicated, he’s not short of something to say.
His personality helped make him one of college football’s most recognizable QBs at Vanderbilt. He played with an edge, talked plenty, and became a regular source of viral moments. The way he publicly expressed his frustration at the Heisman ceremony won’t be easily forgotten. That attention followed him into the NFL draft process, particularly after he went undrafted. Now, that same personality could become the product.
Diego Pavia already has people following him. He has around 111,000 on Instagram and another 21,500 on X. Snapchat is a different game, but there’s money in it if he can get people to stick around. The platform had 946 million monthly users worldwide by the end of 2025, a 6% jump from the year before. The company also paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to creators during the year. Its monetization program allows eligible creators to earn from advertising placed alongside their content.
The ceiling can be surprisingly high. Creator Josh Horton has said he regularly makes at least $200 a day on Snapchat, with some days topping $1,000. Lifestyle creator Abby Berner reportedly pulled in more than $500,000 from Snapchat in 2025.
Diego Pavia isn’t there yet. But he has people watching him, and that’s a big deal. Making real money from that crowd won’t happen overnight, and Snapchat has its own hoops creators have to clear first. Still, the former QB has an audience waiting for him.
There is also a precedent in the football world. Donald De La Haye, better known online as Deestroying, turned his college-kicking background into a huge digital career through football challenges, trick shots, collaborations, and personality-driven videos. His online success eventually helped reopen doors to professional football. Diego Pavia could take a similar path. He could stream games and events, talk football, bring former teammates into videos, show the less polished side of life after college football, or just be himself.
The NFL opportunity may have disappeared for now. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the audience has. And if Diego Pavia can turn that audience into a business, getting cut could eventually grant him the beginning of something much bigger.