Audio By Carbonatix
The world’s smallest violin is currently located in Tuscaloosa as Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer cries poor during the NIL era of college football. Do you hear it playing in the distance?!
One of the best programs of all-time, perhaps ever, is crying broke. Boohoo.
DeBoer was hired as the successor to Nick Saban on Jan. 12, 2024. His first job was to assemble a coaching staff. He was also forced to re-recruit the entire Crimson Tide roster to prevent as many players from entering the transfer portal as possible. Only then could the 49-year-old turn his attention to spring practice and then, eventually, to the spring transfer window.
These last few months have looked very different for Kalen DeBoer than a year ago. He got one full college football season under his belt at Alabama and was able to approach 2025 in a less chaotic manner. That included the additions of nine players through the transfer portal during the winter window and 21 signees through traditional high school recruiting.
The Crimson Tide finished with a top-five class overall, which is great, but apparently the class could’ve been even better if the program had more money at its disposal. Its head coach cried broke during an interview with Pete Nakos of On3. It’s tragic.
Kalen DeBoer believes the upcoming changes to the sport will work to Alabama’s advantage like the implementation of revenue-sharing. Football programs are expected to receive approximately $15 million per year and the development of a new enforcement arm is supposed to penalize programs who do not adhere to the new revenue-sharing rules.
The regulation is really important to the game itself. That regulation where we’re all on an even playing field from the revenue-sharing standpoint helps us, just because now it comes down to what is important in recruiting, and that’s relationships and sharing your vision. People that want to be aligned with your vision, and then come to a place like Alabama that has the resources, the tradition.
— Kalen DeBoer, via On3
The Crimson Tide’s Yea Alabama collective is not the most lucrative. There is not as much NIL money in Tuscaloosa as you might think. DeBoer can’t wait until he can no longer get out-bid.
The regulation and having a more balanced playing field helps our situation. It allows us to get where it was at one point just a few years back. Where recruiting is real recruiting, not just someone who’s gonna put in the highest bid.
— Kalen DeBoer, via On3
I completely understand where Kalen DeBoer is coming from. He is not the only coach to share this gripe. Schools like Oregon have unlimited Nike money on which to recruit. Alabama does not.
Revenue-sharing will help to level the playing field to a certain extent. Issues will still exist but it will help.
With that being said, I do not have any sympathy for the Crimson Tide and its lack of NIL money. One of the greatest programs in college football history (which probably used illegal inducements during the recruiting process prior to the era of Name, Image and Likeness) can cry broke all it wants. The world’s smallest violin will play but nobody is going to share any sympathy.