AJ McCarron reveals Alabama's NIL spending significantly trails college football peers

Is Alabama ill equipped to thrive in the post-Nick Saban era? Former quarterback AJ McCarron seemed to hint strongly at that possibility during a recent appearance on the McCready & Siskey show.

Specifically, he noted Alabama’s NIL offerings are currently trailing some of their peers by a very significant margin. And that’s making coach Kalen DeBoer‘s job of keeping the roster competitive at a championship level even harder.

Alabama suffered a season-opening loss to Florida State on Saturday. And for most of the game, the Seminoles simply looked like the better team.

“If we want to get serious about it, all right, and talk about the fans from a fan perspective and everybody talks about, ‘Well, DeBoer needs to be fired,'” McCarron said. “Listen, he’s got a $70 million buyout. It’s not going to happen. Can’t afford it.

“And another thing that hurts Alabama right now is you look at these other teams that have $40-50 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. OK?”

It’s hard to get an exact bead on NIL figures in the sport, since reporting is limited and word of mouth is the primary way to glean tidbits. Still, McCarron is presumably in a position to know more than most given his connections to the program.

He discussed how Alabama’s season-opening loss, as well as a few dropped games last year, are impacting things. NIL is a factor, but it’s only one factor.

“So you know what helps Alabama from a recruiting standpoint?” McCarron said. “It’s not the money. It’s the fact that Alabama has been Alabama. And people go there because they know you’re going to win national championships, you’re going to be able to compete for national championships year in and year out, and you’re going to 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.”

Alabama was pushed around the field against Florida State, particularly in the trenches. The Crimson Tide never really got a foothold in the game as a result.

That’s a problem. A big one.

“And I don’t care who you have as a coach. Whether it’s coach Saban, coach DeBoer, it doesn’t matter if guys on the team can’t do what they’re supposed to do and play with a reckless abandonment to where they have a nastiness about them and people have a fear of playing them,” McCarron said. “They’re going to struggle. And I hate to say it, but they’ve got to find a way to get back.”

McCarron summed up Alabama’s issue pretty succinctly. Put the NIL aside for a moment, the Crimson Tide coaching staff just has to start getting more out of the players.

“Because it’s not that they don’t have good players, it’s not that they don’t have good coaches, but the effort that these kids are putting out… I shouldn’t even say kids, they’re grown ass men,” McCarron said. “You’re getting paid, it’s a professional sport now. These dudes should be giving out way more effort. And it feels like all they care about is their check coming in. There’s no pride in it.

“Hopefully they find a way to fix it. Listen, it’s one loss. The world’s not coming to an end, at least right now. But you better figure out a way to get this thing back on track because if you don’t it could be a long year for them.”