Even the bluebloods aren't immune to the madness...
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You wonder if they suggested to look at other opportunities....
Good points. Would be curious to see who these guys are, if any are starters or projected starters. Bama will reload no doubt but this is a pain in the ass Saban would rather not deal with I’m sure. He had things humming getting top 3 recruiting classes year after year, now he’s got to re-recruit those same kids every year in this environment.Saban has zero issues with talent acquisition. He has moved kids on for years. He used to have them retire medically and stay on scholarship without counting towards the 85. There comes a time at Bama where you are either moving up the depth chart or the guy behind you is. So you leave. Saban isn’t going to carry dead weight.
The kids at Bama were all very accomplished HS players. They have met a ton of diff coaches across many leagues in the recruiting process. There is no reason for a player with that much talent to sit. They could all be 3-4 year starters and have meaningful careers somewhere else. Wherever that someplace else is??? Why be buried on the depth chart somewhere else?
Or they may have had offers that Bama isn’t gonna match.
Many top schools are losing recruits to the portal. Portal-era things (sometimes new) we've seen at Georgia:
Georgia's a school with high morale but it's seeing more than its fair share of departures as the portal + NIL represents major new incentives for kids.
- Kids low on the depth chart trying to get reps for an NFL resume
- Kids who thought they were a starter next year move on when the starter comes back
- Players moving on bc they're not happy with scheme/position (DB playing Star)
- Following coaches who get poached (Lanning @ Oregon)
- Team leaders leaving to be closer to home
- Fleeing for NIL money
I will say, one of the new things I didn't anticipate is, even big schools can't pay ALL the players. A starting Alabama LB might now happily play for Kentucky, which has no real shot at anything, because UK needs an LB worse than Alabama does, and Alabama isn't ponying up $3MM for 85+ players.
Economics of NIL are going to be a lot like the NFL. Starting QBs make a pile, backup QBs make 10-20% of what the starter does. In the NFL, the starter gets 40 million, the backup gets maybe 5. Scale that to college - the starter gets $3M, the backup maybe gets $200K...probably less. In the NFL, the backup has a contract and is stuck with his team - unless they decide to trade him. In college...they can leave whenever they want. So why would a backup getting $100-200K stay there when he might get 500K and an opportunity to play somewhere else?Many top schools are losing recruits to the portal. Portal-era things (sometimes new) we've seen at Georgia:
Georgia's a school with high morale but it's seeing more than its fair share of departures as the portal + NIL represents major new incentives for kids.
- Kids low on the depth chart trying to get reps for an NFL resume
- Kids who thought they were a starter next year move on when the starter comes back
- Players moving on bc they're not happy with scheme/position (DB playing Star)
- Following coaches who get poached (Lanning @ Oregon)
- Team leaders leaving to be closer to home
- Fleeing for NIL money
I will say, one of the new things I didn't anticipate is, even big schools can't pay ALL the players. A starting Alabama LB might now happily play for Kentucky, which has no real shot at anything, because UK needs an LB worse than Alabama does, and Alabama isn't ponying up $3MM for 85+ players.
Economics of NIL are going to be a lot like the NFL. Starting QBs make a pile, backup QBs make 10-20% of what the starter does. In the NFL, the starter gets 40 million, the backup gets maybe 5. Scale that to college - the starter gets $3M, the backup maybe gets $200K...probably less. In the NFL, the backup has a contract and is stuck with his team - unless they decide to trade him. In college...they can leave whenever they want. So why would a backup getting $100-200K stay there when he might get 500K and an opportunity to play somewhere else?