Payton Thorne

Payton Thorne (born June 26, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and Auburn Tigers before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2025.

Early life Thorne originally attended Metea Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois before transferring to Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois. As a senior in 2018, he was named the Chicago Sun-Times and Naperville Sun Player of the Year after throwing for 3,113 yards and 40 touchdowns. Thorne originally committed to Western Michigan University to play college football but later switched to Michigan State University.

College career

Thorne was redshirted his first year at Michigan State in 2019.

In 2020, he played in four games as a backup to Rocky Lombardi and made one start. In his first career start against Penn State he passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, he completed 48 of 85 passes for 582 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

In 2021, Thorne was named the Spartans starter to open the season. In his first full year as a starter, Thorne threw for 3,240 yards, 27 TDs, 10 INTs, with a 77.7 QBR. He led Michigan State to an 11–2 record, including an 8–0 start and being ranked third in the AP Polls. He also won the Peach Bowl victory over Pittsburgh.

In 2022, Thorne started all 12 games. He recorded 2,679 yards passing, 19 touchdown passes, and one rushing touchdown.

In the 2023 offseason, Thorne transferred to Auburn to play under new head coach Hugh Freeze. He was a starter in 2023, and had 16 TDs with ten interceptions for the season. In 4 games, though, he failed to pass for 100 yards.

For 2024, he beat out freshmen Hank Brown and Walker White for the starter spot in summer practice, but was benched in favor of Brown following Auburn's week 2 loss against California where he threw 4 interceptions in a 21–14 loss. Two weeks later, due to Brown's poor play, Thorne returned to the starter. He finished the season with 21 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and 2,713 yards.

Statistics

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals On May 9, 2025, Thorne signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent after going unselected in the 2025 NFL draft. He was waived on August 25.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers On December 23, 2025, Thorne signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was placed on the reserve/suspended list on May 22, 2026.

Personal life Thorne is a Christian. His father, Jeff Thorne, was the offensive coordinator at Western Michigan in 2022. On December 9, 2025, Jeff died at 53 from stomach cancer.