Link: 2026 Transfer Portal
- Thread starter AlistarWills
- Start date
I agree. I would like to see the staff signing the 10-20 must-haves (ie the 3*+ range guys who come at a fair price but can contribute), then supplementing that with the 5-10 4* players who are swing and miss types, ie the want-to-haves.
Not seeing much of either, but would certainly feel better if we were being more productive with the first bucket.
I don't choose who to play, and I certainly didn't build last year's roster. But if a guy was starting or getting major minutes he was a key contributor, obviously. And there are some of those guys exiting via the portal, and those minutes have as of yet to be replaced. Likewise, the portal acquisitions from last year were quite uninspiring, which is how Alabama ended up playing those guys in the first place, eh?
A word of caution here, to anyone who still expects that "brand name", as in The University of Alabama, matters in this current state of the game:
It doesn't.
These guys will pile into whatever program, in a D1 FBS conference, that pays out the big money. Indiana is your easy first case, as in started out throwing around big money, then got to a championship.
Oregon has a great setup with all of their Nike money. Ohio State has shown us what they will do to get players, and it involves outsized $$$,
Most of the southeast schools aren't going to be able to compete with this, going forward. Texas isn't necessarily "southeast", but they and A&M, are closest to being able to compete dollar for dollar. I'd throw LSU into the mix, but they seem bent on spending everything on coaching staffs. What are they, like three head coaches deep now on the payroll?
Anyway, the time in the sun, 2006-2022, is over now for the SEC. It was a magnificent run. It's over for now.
It doesn't.
These guys will pile into whatever program, in a D1 FBS conference, that pays out the big money. Indiana is your easy first case, as in started out throwing around big money, then got to a championship.
Oregon has a great setup with all of their Nike money. Ohio State has shown us what they will do to get players, and it involves outsized $$$,
Most of the southeast schools aren't going to be able to compete with this, going forward. Texas isn't necessarily "southeast", but they and A&M, are closest to being able to compete dollar for dollar. I'd throw LSU into the mix, but they seem bent on spending everything on coaching staffs. What are they, like three head coaches deep now on the payroll?
Anyway, the time in the sun, 2006-2022, is over now for the SEC. It was a magnificent run. It's over for now.
But we have a GM
Trained by the Michigan staff led Jim Harbaugh. Makes me feel sure said no one ever.
Dog gone tooten! Nick is the master of using the media for his purpose. He tells the world but in the end you know exactly that he is talking to you. Brilliant!
Yea, baffles me how that one got away. I mean, that is the dude that was opening holes for our transfer Hollywood. Want to keep that tandem in tact as much as possible.
While I have my questions about the staff itself, I think there's a degree of overreaction to the situation Alabama finds itself in. I've researched athletic department budgets over the years, I was able to pretty accurately predict how NIL would play it before it did, but that also means I have a solid understanding of where Alabama lands. I said before NIL went into effect that Oregon, Ohio State and Texas would be better positioned to take advantage of NIL. They are, and they have but as you can see both with those teams and with Indiana, it's not all about how much you spend. It is about how you spend it.
In that regard, Alabama is still a top 10 program. They're a top 5 athletic department in terms of revenue as well, so with the university side of NIL kicking in, they're going to be able to max out that 20+ million in NIL whereas not even every power program is going to be able to. The key here is just spending it wisely.
In that regard, I think the smart play is build depth and roster continuity. If you max out your roster at 105 (which won't be that easy) and start the pay at 100K, you are spending just under half of your NIL budget (on the college end). This still gives you room for retention/performance type bonuses, but I personally don't think the school should be too involved in funding the big buys anyway. It's just easier if they basically pay each player the same, and let the boosters leverage their funds for the big moves.
The important part of this is that one single move outbids over half of the FBS, not to mention every level of football below that. If you offer a scholarship, or you make a move in the portal, that money is more than the average pay of any semi-pro league every, and higher than any non-power conference can afford. If you just do your evaluations, just build your big board, you will have tons of names and with the extra 20 slots you can build quality depth that won't be looking for the exit because they know they're already paid more than most potential destinations.
Alabama is well positioned to do this, they can basically stash the entire starting lineup of a team like JMU or Tulane on their bench. But they have to do their homework, they have to do their evaluations and find those 3 stars that have fallen through the cracks. But, the opportunity, money, and even roster space is there they just have to take it.
In that regard, Alabama is still a top 10 program. They're a top 5 athletic department in terms of revenue as well, so with the university side of NIL kicking in, they're going to be able to max out that 20+ million in NIL whereas not even every power program is going to be able to. The key here is just spending it wisely.
In that regard, I think the smart play is build depth and roster continuity. If you max out your roster at 105 (which won't be that easy) and start the pay at 100K, you are spending just under half of your NIL budget (on the college end). This still gives you room for retention/performance type bonuses, but I personally don't think the school should be too involved in funding the big buys anyway. It's just easier if they basically pay each player the same, and let the boosters leverage their funds for the big moves.
The important part of this is that one single move outbids over half of the FBS, not to mention every level of football below that. If you offer a scholarship, or you make a move in the portal, that money is more than the average pay of any semi-pro league every, and higher than any non-power conference can afford. If you just do your evaluations, just build your big board, you will have tons of names and with the extra 20 slots you can build quality depth that won't be looking for the exit because they know they're already paid more than most potential destinations.
Alabama is well positioned to do this, they can basically stash the entire starting lineup of a team like JMU or Tulane on their bench. But they have to do their homework, they have to do their evaluations and find those 3 stars that have fallen through the cracks. But, the opportunity, money, and even roster space is there they just have to take it.
The only predictor of future performance is past performance. I'm not saying they have struck out or will strike out. I'm saying they struck out last year, and they can't afford to do it again. Also, the guys they're evaulating and taking from the portal have college-level tape now to go by. It's more understandable to whiff on a high school kid, but I expect better talent evaluation on portal players. Apparently, Courtney Morgan himself knew and said out loud that we struck out in the portal before we even held spring practice last year. They didn't have to play the games to know they missed on the guys they really wanted and took fliers on some others. I'm just hoping it works out better this time around, but so far.....
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Exactly. My wife and I have done well, and we are in a position to be very charitable. As we plan for our retirement years, the main focus is how much of our money to give away and to whom to give it. Before we settled on our current plan, my wife asked me if I wanted to participate in the NIL circus. Now, we aren't going to donate millions a year, but we soon could do six-figures a year. My response was, "Absolutely not. Not now. Not ever."
Why? Besides it being a stupid "investment," I'd be giving money to kids who are just going to spend it on cars, jewelry, or some other dumb crap. I find that offensive. And I would be enabling the kid to be a financial retard. I won't contribute to that.
People can do what they want with their money, but I'd rather help poor kids attend college, get poor single moms a chance to have jobs and decent housing, provide food and supplies for poor elderly and disabled people, fund medical missions, etc. Truly helping people have a better life is far more fulfilling than flushing money on a sports team. With the money that these billionaires are throwing around, they could instead be yearly helping thousands of people break the cycle of poverty and have a better life.
Do we have any portal signings we are close on? I know we have a few in town. Anyone got any inside info for us? This has been no fun. I wasn't ready for Horton to go. That was upsetting to me...
I think those are all valid points and I personally hate NIL and was adamantly against it. Not being a wealthy person, I would still consider, as I said before a sum in the amount of $1,000 or something if it guaranteed a good kicker or the like. That's in the ballpark of what it could cost to go to a good game and if it saved me having to watch some of the bad kicks I have over the years, it could be a worthwhile investment.
Having said that, if we're being logical spending money on sports in any way, shape or form is probably a bad investment and doesn't do a lot of societal good. But, the campus and a lot of college campuses are littered with what I can best describe as obscene wastes of money (often paid for by someone that doesn't seem to know what to do with all their money). I've cited it repeatedly, but a good example is the golf practice facility. 47 million bucks for a 0 ROI investment. The football team on the other hand, actually generates a lot of revenue for the athletic department, the university, the city and even the state (I think it brings in 200 million annually for the state).
So yeah I'm with you on it being not an especially good use of money. But, if someone has enough money to do dumb stuff with it like gambling, or absurd expenditures on golf, or luxury boxes or what have you, then NIL actually becomes a much more reasonable and honestly intelligent investment (if used wisely, like Cuban did).
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JOX reported today Ole Miss is offering Chambliss and Lacy $SEVEN MILLION combined to return next year; this is getting crazy. Though the NCAA has denied Chambliss a 6th year of eligibility. Of course, they are appealing.
I can understand that POV, but it's not for me. If I were at the billionaire level, I still don't see myself putting money into NIL. I just can't spend money that way. I don't spend money on fancy cars. I don't have a watch. The upper end of my wardrobe consists of khakis and polo shirts. I just recently go a new iPhone 17 because my iPhone 11 died after a long illness. My most extravagant expending is on hardback books. I live well below my means so I can invest. And having debt makes me nauseous.
If my wife and I were a billionaires, we would just do more (in scale and scope) of what we are currently doing. But, instead of helping hundreds a year, we would be able to help thousands. Tens of thousands. I'd much rather leave a legacy of having helped a lot of people forever change their life trajectories than buying a few football players. JMHO.
He is a jack of all trades, master of none. At times you think he is going to grow and be good and the next moment there his looking like a matador
Nice post. Got to say though, a bill kind of changes things. That is, $1,000,000,000.00. I could spare a few million for a hobby and still impact lives in a positive way.
I'm willing to see if a billion changes my mind. Everyone send money to my Go Fund Me and let's do the science on this.
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