Audio By Carbonatix
Austin Mack is getting paid handsomely at Alabama. The four-star quarterback received a lucrative NIL package to play for the Crimson Tide and will make a good chunk of money while in Tuscaloosa.
However, there is a downside to the financial freedom… his friends expect him to pick up the tab!
Mack was positioned behind guys like Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava, Dante Moore and Jaden Rashada as the eight-ranked signal-caller in the college football recruiting Class of 2023. He initially committed to Washington over 11 other offers from west coast programs. School like Colorado State, Oregon Arizona, Cal and Stanford were in the mix. He committed to play for offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and head coach Kalen DeBoer. He ultimately followed DeBoer to Alabama after a redshirt freshman year in Seattle.
Mack immediately towered over Jalen Milroe and the other Crimson Tide quarterbacks upon arrival to campus at 6-foot-6 but it was Milroe who earned the starting job for 2024 as the incumbent.
Mack is now in the driver’s seat for the QB1 role in 2025. The quarterback competition with Ty Simpson and freshman Keelon Russell will continue through fall camp. It certainly feels like DeBoer will want to go with the guy he hand-picked to replace Michael Penix at UW.
Regardless of what happens over the next three+ months, Austin Mack is still making a lot of money. Especially for an 18-year-old college student. NIL numbers are rarely made public so there is no way to know his exact salary. However, I would assume his compensatory package hovers in the mid-six figures.
Thus, it is always his turn to pick up the tab when he is out with his friends. Mack recently paid for dinner while back home in California with former Folsom High School teammate R.J. Whitten.
I can’t imagine Austin Mack thought twice about a $20 meal at a chicken joint, but it adds up over time! Too many meals could run him dry a lot sooner than he planned! There is a downside to making NIL money. Mack has to pay for his friends who don’t… but there are worse problems to have!