According to UA athletics director Greg Byrne, Alabama will be all-in.
“One of the biggest transformational changes in college athletics is upon us,” Byrne wrote in a statement posted to social media Saturday morning. “And Alabama Athletics has been planning for this day and making decisions that best position our department for long term success. Approval of the House settlement offers stability going forward, which is something that is much needed.
“We’re extremely proud of the world-class resources our student-athletes receive and will now add to that by offering new scholarships while fully funding revenue sharing.”
The revenue sharing number will change each year during the 10-year settlement. It will be calculated as 22% of the average revenue for schools from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, factoring in media rights, ticket sales and sponsorship revenue.
The Tide will have to choose how to split the cash, with men’s and women’s basketball and plenty of other sports vying for funds. Byrne told ESPN in an interview that was published on Saturday.
“I tell our coaches, ‘We don’t have a sport here at the University of Alabama just to have a sport,’” Byrne told ESPN.
Another key element of the settlement to remember: NIL isn’t going away. Neither is the Crimson Tide’s collective, Yea Alabama, which Byrne made sure to mention in a statement he issued on social media Saturday.
“Our student-athletes have the distinct benefit of Yea Alabama, which focuses on creating authentic NIL opportunities powered by both the Alabama and student-athlete brands,” Byrne wrote. “Crimson Tide Sports Marketing and Learfield will also continue to cultivate local and national opportunities that greatly benefit our student-athletes.”
There’s a new wrinkle under the settlement. Third-party NIL $600 will have to be approved by a new enforcement agency, managed by Deloitte.
At most SEC schools, football players will take the lion’s share of the available funds. Alabama is not expected to be any different, though Byrne and company have not revealed how much will be allocated to its most important sport.
The day Alabama football has been anticipating will finally arrive on July 1. The Crimson Tide, along with the rest of Division I, will be able to pay players directly, under the terms of the newly approved House v. NCAA settlement.
UA will be allowed to compensate players via revenue sharing. Teams can opt in to the full permissible amount, which most estimates place at around $20.5 million for 2025.
