Is Alabama lagging behind others in NIL?

The retirement of legendary Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has brought up a ton of questions.

While Saban himself has said that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal did not impact his decision to walk away — one can’t help but wonder where Alabama stacks up against other schools when it comes to NIL.

After Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss, the social media account of the school’s NIL collective Yea Alabama put out a video soliciting donations and saying that fans need to take their “bitter disappointment and use it for good in NIL.”

Now is not the time to rest. We need your support to build the best NIL program in the country. To do that, we need your support. Join right now. pic.twitter.com/AtzLbYRz83

— Yea Alabama (@yea_ala) January 2, 2024

It’s no secret that Saban was not a fan of NIL. But he was certainly willing to adapt to it. However, in the days since his retirement, there seems to have been a much bigger push and promotion marketing wise from Yea Alabama.

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Even Greg Byrne, who addressed the criteria in hiring a new coach during the DeBoer search as needing to “face reality” with regards to how the sport is changing, has been sporting a Yea Alabama pin in the days since DeBoer was hired:

During the interview process, how important was it for Alabama's new head coach to embrace NIL?

"You better not be a dinosaur. Whether you like something. You don't like something. You need to face reality in what you do." – @Greg_Byrne @yea_ala pic.twitter.com/Uzl8aRTPDX

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 14, 2024

It’s no big secret that Alabama is, at the best, at least somewhat lacking behind some of its SEC counterparts when it comes to NIL money currently being put behind the collective.

The oil money that exists out in Austin and College Station simply isn’t in Tuscaloosa. There is no Jimmy Rane willing to do whatever it takes at the stroke of a pen to land a recruit.

What Alabama is going to quickly realize is that the Saban discount no longer exists. Kalen DeBoer may be fantastic, but recruits are no longer going to accept less than they can get elsewhere to go to Alabama.

As great as Nick Saban was on the field, by far his greatest skills as a coach was talent acquisition. And he was able to sell the idea to players that they will create value for themselves and ultimately make more in the end, a pitch that held true even through the NIL era.

DeBoer is entering a new era. If Alabama wants to continue domination on the field and on the recruiting trail, it must be prepared to do what it takes to land its new coach the talent he will need to compete in the SEC.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP