AJ McCarron claims Alabama’s NIL budget is less than half of other top programs
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
AJ McCarron dropped an interesting tidbit on the state of Alabama‘s current NIL budget, notable in the light of the Crimson Tide’s Week 1 loss to Florida State on Saturday.
During an appearance on the McCready and Siskey Podcast, the former Tide quarterback and 3-time national champion acknowledged the calls for Kalen DeBoer‘s job, adding that such a move would be prohibitive due to DeBoer’s massive $70 million buyout. But he also brought up “another thing that hurts Alabama right now.”
“You look at these other teams that have $40 to $50 million in NIL. Alabama, and I know this for a fact, talking to multiple people inside the program, Alabama’s got less than $20 million in their NIL,” McCarron said.
Reports have claimed that Texas has an NIL budget of as much as $40 million. And Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has stated that he believed that Oregon has spent that amount on its roster as well.
McCarron added that Alabama’s reputation is currently its biggest draw, not NIL. But its NIL budget in relation to other programs could become a problem if the football team’s fortunes continue to take a downturn, he noted.
“You know what helps Alabama from a recruiting standpoint? It’s not the money. It’s the fact that Alabama has been Alabama,” he said. “And people go there ’cause you know you’re gonna win national championships, you’re gonna be able to compete for national championships year in and year out, and you’re gonna go into the NFL most likely if you do what you’re supposed to do.
“If you start losing, all of that goes away. And now you can’t pay guys what other schools are dishing out? Now it hurts you even more, and I don’t care who you have as a coach.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
