Link: 2026 Transfer Portal

[The Ols]

I keep bringing it up because we somehow exist in a world where they can afford a 47 million facility that is as you alluded to caters to those with money to burn, yet people repeatedly say they can't afford a 60 million dollar buyout.

How can those two things be possible at the same time? Likewise, we watch Alabama get outbid over and over for players, and we say they can't afford a 40 million dollar roster or what ever the costs may be, but once again, can afford a rather unnecessary and lavish 47 million dollars so the golf players can practice in style (the program was doing fine without it).

I'm not a big fan of NIL, but you can invest 250 more million into the golf program and you's still get at best in the low 7 figures back annually. The success of failure of the football team can produce mid-8 figure swings in revenue annually (without even getting into how much the football program has driven an increase in attendance to the University as a whole). Basically, the difference in ROI here is at least a hundredfold.

So as you alluded to, basically the people with money wanted it, right? So they got it. Which is fine, but are we to believe they're all broke now because of it? That's their big spend, they say hey 47 million practice facility for a golf program that brings in about a million a year, that's where all my money went, sorry we're broke now?

The reality is that the football program basically carries all the other programs, including golf. You have to take care of it first! If you stop doing that, the entire budget of the department will drop and all other sports will suffer for it. Alabama isn't a 200 million a year athletic department because of golf and the boosters and the AD need to remember that. I don't mind them paying that much for a golf practice facility, I do mind doing that when you don't have enough to keep Caleb Downs.

I bring up Caleb Downs because we now know that basically around the same time funds were being diverted to this facility, the Alabama NIL program was also under-funded and this has been discussed and covered. Now I'm not saying Saban quit because of this, but under Saban the Alabama NIL program was not getting enough funds, at the same time things like this were. Instead of hunting for a billionaire, just better apply the money already being spent...

@AlexanderFan Rather than make another reply about this, I'll just reiterate the point I made earlier. If I'm an AD and a booster comes to me and wants to donate to the golf program, I will say fine look I will use X amount of funds on the golf program. I have 200+ million to spend, I can put less than 10% of my budget into paying players, so I can honor your wish. Now go donate that money to the NIL collective! That's the solution, leverage the funds the university already has. They're top 3 in revenue but falling behind because they're not leveraging it well enough.

Golf facilities will last for decades…a player might not last a single play.

 

[KrAzY3]

Golf facilities will last for decades…a player might not last a single play.

I'm pretty sure 47 million would get you more than one player...

During those decades the golf program will have brought in less revenue than the football program does in a single season. To give a point of reference if you total all the revenue the golf program has actually generated it it's entire existence (about 70 years), is less than the football program will generate in a single year. Mind you, I don't even see how this facility could increase golf's revenue anyway.

Or to put it another way, the golf program is worth about one single Alabama football player in terms of revenue generation. That's the reality. Whereas that amount of money basically buys a full competitive football roster for one year.

Now, my point is not to never spend money on golf. But people here are saying Alabama boosters are broke, can't afford things, yet they are like yeah well they can afford tens of millions on golf but you know, that's different because reasons. The money is there, it's just not being properly diverted. Alabama makes about 80 million more per year than Ole Miss, yet Ole Miss is competitive with Alabama in NIL.

Do you know what's funded golf all these years? Football. That's the revenue driver, that's where the money comes from. Now I have absolutely no problem with a booster wanting to help golf. I do have a problem with ultimately diverting funds that could have gone to pay the electric bill, to pay for a lavish expense. The solution in this case is simple, just do a match. Put the booster money into NIL and let the department keep spending on golf. You can do both, you just have to be intelligent about it.

If you starve off the football program though, it will hurt funding for every single sport in the athletic department because that's ultimately where most the money comes from! I get it though, some people think spending money on NIL is gross and spending it on golf is more dignified (I would like to get rid of NIL, but abstaining from it won't eliminate it). That doesn't change the reality of the situation though, they can do it like that but as Alabama's revenue gradually comes down I am not sure people will like the result. In the end even golf will suffer.

 

[JDCrimson]

I think to a degree the AD and the capable boosters and fans are a bit drunk off our success under Saban and because of this we have been slow to react to the new economics to compete in football and basketball.

Other programs have been pining for decades to be competitive and could not use their alumni money to compete due to NCAA rules. The handcuffs are off now.

This is sort of like the Northern talent migration that we saw post-Depression and during the Civil Rights movement. The players will move North and West because that is where the money is...

Jesse Owens, born in Alabama, had to go to school at Ohio State to get the opportunity to do what was God-given to him. A bunch of talent is transferring Northern because the financial incentives might be 2x or more to do so...

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

I'm pretty sure 47 million would get you more than one player...

During those decades the golf program will have brought in less revenue than the football program does in a single season. To give a point of reference if you total all the revenue the golf program has actually generated it it's entire existence (about 70 years), is less than the football program will generate in a single year. Mind you, I don't even see how this facility could increase golf's revenue anyway.

Or to put it another way, the golf program is worth about one single Alabama football player in terms of revenue generation. That's the reality. Whereas that amount of money basically buys a full competitive football roster for one year.

Now, my point is not to never spend money on golf. But people here are saying Alabama boosters are broke, can't afford things, yet they are like yeah well they can afford tens of millions on golf but you know, that's different because reasons. The money is there, it's just not being properly diverted. Alabama makes about 80 million more per year than Ole Miss, yet Ole Miss is competitive with Alabama in NIL.

Do you know what's funded golf all these years? Football. That's the revenue driver, that's where the money comes from. Now I have absolutely no problem with a booster wanting to help golf. I do have a problem with ultimately diverting funds that could have gone to pay the electric bill, to pay for a lavish expense. The solution in this case is simple, just do a match. Put the booster money into NIL and let the department keep spending on golf. You can do both, you just have to be intelligent about it.

If you starve off the football program though, it will hurt funding for every single sport in the athletic department because that's ultimately where most the money comes from! I get it though, some people think spending money on NIL is gross and spending it on golf is more dignified (I would like to get rid of NIL, but abstaining from it won't eliminate it). That doesn't change the reality of the situation though, they can do it like that but as Alabama's revenue gradually comes down I am not sure people will like the result. In the end even golf will suffer.

For us to have invested $47M into a golf facility, there is no doubt in my mind that those donations were contingent on the funds going to golf...

 

[Bamabuzzard]

For us to have invested $47M into a golf facility, there is no doubt in my mind that those donations were contingent on the funds going to golf...

I can almost guarantee it. LOL! But having said that, I don't think we need to say Alabama doesn't have the money to compete in the NIL error. Apparently, we do, it's just not everyone (with "money) is participating.

 

[day-day]

I can almost guarantee it. LOL! But having said that, I don't think we need to say Alabama doesn't have the money to compete in the NIL error. Apparently, we do, it's just not everyone (with "money) is participating.

Nice wordplay...

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Nice wordplay...

I thought it was clever, myself. LOL!

 

[KrAzY3]

For us to have invested $47M into a golf facility, there is no doubt in my mind that those donations were contingent on the funds going to golf...

Yes, I am pretty sure as well. But to reiterate, there's nothing stopping the AD from allocating those funds from the athletic department's pretty large income and then having the booster send his donation to NIL. This is within the rules, it's not wrong, but ironically it also avoids any Title IX issues (though in this case it's not applicable as this is something men and women can use.).

I point out for instance that Alabama's athletic department is one of the top in revenue, they make 60 million more than Tennessee for example, and someone will say yeah but they can't spend more than 20 of that on NIL. I then point out the boosters spend tens of millions on a 9 hole closed to the public golf facility, and the counter is yeah but that's for golf but not football.

You just have to divert the booster funds to NIL via a match! I read an article recently where an AD or someone was quoted as saying "we're laundering money" but in this case it's not illegal! You just have to say look don't write the check to me, write it to the NIL collective, and I will match that with athletic department spending in the manner you see fit!

It's not even a complicated solution! It's just Alabama getting with the modern era and understanding how things work now. The money is there, I've followed it for years, they get tens of millions in donation to the athletic department annually, they just need to move it around. Golf can still have their facility, and football can be competitive, and yes for the record some sport no one wants to donate to or pay to see will lose funding, but something has to give here or else the entire athletic department will take a hit.

Edit: I might as well add you can probably afford to cut some spending on football on the athletic department's side if you divert enough booster donations to NIL. This might sound foolish, but in the NIL/portal era you don't need to spend as lavishly on other stuff when you can just entice the players with money. So, for instance Indiana's athletic department spent 60 million less than Alabama, they paid their football staff over 4 million less, they did however spend more on NIL from what I understand... So once you get do a better job diverting booster funds directly into NIL you can afford to adjust your spending habits in the athletic department accordingly.

TLDR: There is enough athletic department and booster money to pay for what everyone wants. It just has to be put in the right places.

 

[gtgilbert]

My guess is they valued Yhonzae Pierre more than Russaw and so Russaw decided to leave. Smith and him have always been a package deal

I also think that Pierre had likely passed Russaw and they were talking with Russaw about possibly moving to an ILB spot instead of the edge and he decided to go.

 

[Padreruf]

Yes, I am pretty sure as well. But to reiterate, there's nothing stopping the AD from allocating those funds from the athletic department's pretty large income and then having the booster send his donation to NIL. This is within the rules, it's not wrong, but ironically it also avoids any Title IX issues (though in this case it's not applicable as this is something men and women can use.).

I point out for instance that Alabama's athletic department is one of the top in revenue, they make 60 million more than Tennessee for example, and someone will say yeah but they can't spend more than 20 of that on NIL. I then point out the boosters spend tens of millions on a 9 hole closed to the public golf facility, and the counter is yeah but that's for golf but not football.

You just have to divert the booster funds to NIL via a match! I read an article recently where an AD or someone was quoted as saying "we're laundering money" but in this case it's not illegal! You just have to say look don't write the check to me, write it to the NIL collective, and I will match that with athletic department spending in the manner you see fit!

It's not even a complicated solution! It's just Alabama getting with the modern era and understanding how things work now. The money is there, I've followed it for years, they get tens of millions in donation to the athletic department annually, they just need to move it around. Golf can still have their facility, and football can be competitive, and yes for the record some sport no one wants to donate to or pay to see will lose funding, but something has to give here or else the entire athletic department will take a hit.

Edit: I might as well add you can probably afford to cut some spending on football on the athletic department's side if you divert enough booster donations to NIL. This might sound foolish, but in the NIL/portal era you don't need to spend as lavishly on other stuff when you can just entice the players with money. So, for instance Indiana's athletic department spent 60 million less than Alabama, they paid their football staff over 4 million less, they did however spend more on NIL from what I understand... So once you get do a better job diverting booster funds directly into NIL you can afford to adjust your spending habits in the athletic department accordingly.

TLDR: There is enough athletic department and booster money to pay for what everyone wants. It just has to be put in the right places.

Have you ever tried writing a short post? Reading these tomes is laborious....LOL.

 

[The Ols]

I'm pretty sure 47 million would get you more than one player...

During those decades the golf program will have brought in less revenue than the football program does in a single season. To give a point of reference if you total all the revenue the golf program has actually generated it it's entire existence (about 70 years), is less than the football program will generate in a single year. Mind you, I don't even see how this facility could increase golf's revenue anyway.

Or to put it another way, the golf program is worth about one single Alabama football player in terms of revenue generation. That's the reality. Whereas that amount of money basically buys a full competitive football roster for one year.

Now, my point is not to never spend money on golf. But people here are saying Alabama boosters are broke, can't afford things, yet they are like yeah well they can afford tens of millions on golf but you know, that's different because reasons. The money is there, it's just not being properly diverted. Alabama makes about 80 million more per year than Ole Miss, yet Ole Miss is competitive with Alabama in NIL.

Do you know what's funded golf all these years? Football. That's the revenue driver, that's where the money comes from. Now I have absolutely no problem with a booster wanting to help golf. I do have a problem with ultimately diverting funds that could have gone to pay the electric bill, to pay for a lavish expense. The solution in this case is simple, just do a match. Put the booster money into NIL and let the department keep spending on golf. You can do both, you just have to be intelligent about it.

If you starve off the football program though, it will hurt funding for every single sport in the athletic department because that's ultimately where most the money comes from! I get it though, some people think spending money on NIL is gross and spending it on golf is more dignified (I would like to get rid of NIL, but abstaining from it won't eliminate it). That doesn't change the reality of the situation though, they can do it like that but as Alabama's revenue gradually comes down I am not sure people will like the result. In the end even golf will suffer.

Nobody said golf made money. Other sports are necessary…Not sure why your literally bent about this…I hate the term, but in business, the money comes from different buckets. I wish I could spend on improvements a fraction of what gets spent on things that don’t seem as pressing, but I can’t.

 

[KrAzY3]

Nobody said golf made money. Other sports are necessary…Not sure why your literally bent about this…I hate the term, but in business, the money comes from different buckets. I wish I could spend on improvements a fraction of what gets spent on things that don’t seem as pressing, but I can’t.

That is not how the athletic department has to work though. Poorer athletic departments have more to spend on revenue sports, can outspend Alabama, yet make tens of millions less. Alabama's athletic department in the least was operating on an antiquated model, I hope they are evolving with the times.

To reiterate, booster has 1 million to donate to golf. The AD asks him to donate that to NIL instead, then matches that with athletic department funds which go to golf. Once it's in the athletic department you can do less with it. There is no requirement for money allocated to the golf program to come directly from a booster. This breaks the 20 million cap placed on schools, guaranteeing they can compete for talent.

The two mandatory SEC sports as far as I'm aware of are football and basketball, those are also the two sports that pay for the rest. You can say "necessary" in terms of some women sports for title IX also. There is no necessity for the athletic department to spend nearly 200 million a year, only 2 programs do that. Cut back to reasonable levels on the other sports. Directing booster funds (which come from a different "bucket") into NIL isn't just possible, it's fiscally responsible.

TLDR: Booster money shouldn't get tied up in the athletic department.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017409215254458856

 

[KrAzY3]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017409215254458856

Interesting guy, I think he'd be more of a depth piece to replace Dre Washington but despite low stats there is some upside.

He's a 3 star running back, was decent at Tennessee (4.8 YPC his last season) then apparently decided to redshirt so very limited use. Very limited use at App State as well, sounds like he has some injury issues though. Local guy, 3 star, some SEC experience. Provides some depth on the bench so not a bad idea, better than having to play a lineback at at RB like Alabama had to do a bit in 2021.

 

[Cruloc]

 

[BamaMoon]

I keep bringing it up because we somehow exist in a world where they can afford a 47 million facility that is as you alluded to caters to those with money to burn, yet people repeatedly say they can't afford a 60 million dollar buyout.

How can those two things be possible at the same time? Likewise, we watch Alabama get outbid over and over for players, and we say they can't afford a 40 million dollar roster or what ever the costs may be, but once again, can afford a rather unnecessary and lavish 47 million dollars so the golf players can practice in style (the program was doing fine without it).

I'm not a big fan of NIL, but you can invest 250 more million into the golf program and you's still get at best in the low 7 figures back annually. The success of failure of the football team can produce mid-8 figure swings in revenue annually (without even getting into how much the football program has driven an increase in attendance to the University as a whole). Basically, the difference in ROI here is at least a hundredfold.

So as you alluded to, basically the people with money wanted it, right? So they got it. Which is fine, but are we to believe they're all broke now because of it? That's their big spend, they say hey 47 million practice facility for a golf program that brings in about a million a year, that's where all my money went, sorry we're broke now?

The reality is that the football program basically carries all the other programs, including golf. You have to take care of it first! If you stop doing that, the entire budget of the department will drop and all other sports will suffer for it. Alabama isn't a 200 million a year athletic department because of golf and the boosters and the AD need to remember that. I don't mind them paying that much for a golf practice facility, I do mind doing that when you don't have enough to keep Caleb Downs.

I bring up Caleb Downs because we now know that basically around the same time funds were being diverted to this facility, the Alabama NIL program was also under-funded and this has been discussed and covered. Now I'm not saying Saban quit because of this, but under Saban the Alabama NIL program was not getting enough funds, at the same time things like this were. Instead of hunting for a billionaire, just better apply the money already being spent...

@AlexanderFan Rather than make another reply about this, I'll just reiterate the point I made earlier. If I'm an AD and a booster comes to me and wants to donate to the golf program, I will say fine look I will use X amount of funds on the golf program. I have 200+ million to spend, I can put less than 10% of my budget into paying players, so I can honor your wish. Now go donate that money to the NIL collective! That's the solution, leverage the funds the university already has. They're top 3 in revenue but falling behind because they're not leveraging it well enough.

I think it's a bad comparison because the money for the golf facility is a one-time hit, but it will last for years and years and years.

An NIL budget of 20-40 million (choose any #) is for 1 year, and, like a fart in the wind, it's gone!

 

[KrAzY3]

I think it's a bad comparison because the money for the golf facility is a one-time hit, but it will last for years and years and years.

An NIL budget of 20-40 million (choose any #) is for 1 year, and, like a fart in the wind, it's gone!

I shouldn't have fixated on the one example, it's one of many. The underlying math needs to be understood. Every sport not named football and men's basketball generates less than 30 million dollars annually combined (while costing far more than that). Football reportedly generated 60 million in profit alone. That's 60 million each year that pays for everything else. That "fart in the wind" might sound useless, but it's a far more sound investment that something that generates a net negative. It's kind of like saying why put gas in the car.

The underlying point I was getting at, and poorly I must admit is that donors give in the neighborhood of 50 million annually to the athletic department. This is not a lack of money situation. The athletic department is the third richest in the country, they don't need those donations to function. What they are currently doing is taking those donations, using large portions on building things for non-revenue sports, then going back to those same donors and asking for more money for NIL. That's where Alabama becomes "poor".

If someone thinks the non-revenue sports are going to hit it big one year, then sure keep on keeping on but it hasn't worked for the past 70 years and it's unlikely to start working anytime soon. Mind you, I'm not saying deprive them, do what the boosters want, just stop asking the boosters to pony up twice. Put the booster money in NIL and let the immense (football) revenue pay for the athletic department's expenses. It's just about adapting with the times.

 

[gtgilbert]

I shouldn't have fixated on the one example, it's one of many. The underlying math needs to be understood. Every sport not named football and men's basketball generates less than 30 million dollars annually combined (while costing far more than that). Football reportedly generated 60 million in profit alone. That's 60 million each year that pays for everything else. That "fart in the wind" might sound useless, but it's a far more sound investment that something that generates a net negative. It's kind of like saying why put gas in the car.

The underlying point I was getting at, and poorly I must admit is that donors give in the neighborhood of 50 million annually to the athletic department. This is not a lack of money situation. The athletic department is the third richest in the country, they don't need those donations to function. What they are currently doing is taking those donations, using large portions on building things for non-revenue sports, then going back to those same donors and asking for more money for NIL. That's where Alabama becomes "poor".

If someone thinks the non-revenue sports are going to hit it big one year, then sure keep on keeping on but it hasn't worked for the past 70 years and it's unlikely to start working anytime soon. Mind you, I'm not saying deprive them, do what the boosters want, just stop asking the boosters to pony up twice. Put the booster money in NIL and let the immense (football) revenue pay for the athletic department's expenses. It's just about adapting with the times.

ok, but consider this. Some donors may *only* donate with certain conditions on the funding, and if the AD doesn't agree to the conditions, there's no donation.

i.e. A huge fan of golf decides he wants to help build a facility. He can say this $ can only be used for this purpose and condition / phase the gift based on that.

 

[dtgreg]

I shouldn't have fixated on the one example, it's one of many. The underlying math needs to be understood. Every sport not named football and men's basketball generates less than 30 million dollars annually combined (while costing far more than that). Football reportedly generated 60 million in profit alone. That's 60 million each year that pays for everything else. That "fart in the wind" might sound useless, but it's a far more sound investment that something that generates a net negative. It's kind of like saying why put gas in the car.

The underlying point I was getting at, and poorly I must admit is that donors give in the neighborhood of 50 million annually to the athletic department. This is not a lack of money situation. The athletic department is the third richest in the country, they don't need those donations to function. What they are currently doing is taking those donations, using large portions on building things for non-revenue sports, then going back to those same donors and asking for more money for NIL. That's where Alabama becomes "poor".

If someone thinks the non-revenue sports are going to hit it big one year, then sure keep on keeping on but it hasn't worked for the past 70 years and it's unlikely to start working anytime soon. Mind you, I'm not saying deprive them, do what the boosters want, just stop asking the boosters to pony up twice. Put the booster money in NIL and let the immense (football) revenue pay for the athletic department's expenses. It's just about adapting with the times.

I can forsee a time when, if it's not already here, we forget why we're doing what we're doing. Athletic prestige is useful when it gets Alumni to donate to the University for academics. This is the reason schools have always spent money on programs that lose money. The investment pays greatly on the back end. The People have elected government for generations now that are not at all interested in funding education. Universities rely so heavily upon the rich to donate so that they can even exist.

I fear that we are in an arms race for the sake of winning the arms race. We cannot and should not try to outspend the crazier crazies buying rosters so we can "win".

I remember being in the Auburn Student Union building 30 years ago and noticing how poor and drab the place was. It occurred to me that they perhaps had allocated all their spending to athletics trying to keep up with Alabama to the point the rest of the school suffered. I got the vibes of the old Soviet Union trying to keep up with America in terms of weaponry. A losing game.

I don't want this to be us.

 

[CoolBreeze]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2017409215254458856

" throwing another dart at the dart board?"

Alabama, Kalen DeBoer bringing in former Tennessee RB for a surprise weekend visit

The Tide failed to address one of their most pressing needs in the transfer portal, so they're turning to a former in-state three-star.

bamahammer.com