Alabama Football: Nick Saban NFL first-rounders and longevity

When Alabama football coach Nick Saban talks about players creating value he is not talking only about the NFL. He also means non-playing careers that a college education provides. The newest ‘creating value’ component is NIL deals.

Looking at NFL contracts, Nick Saban-coached, Alabama football players have cashed in heavily with NFL salaries. Nick Saban recently said a calculation was given to him that since 2007 Alabama Crimson Tide players have made $1.7B playing in the NFL. Yes, that ‘B’ stands for billion. Some quick research indicates the total includes future earnings built into existing contracts. Already earned or earned and to be earned, either way, that is a massive amount of money.

Longevity is not a word that applies to many NFL players. According to the NFL Players Association, an average NFL career lasts 3.3 seasons. The NFL owners counter by saying that for drafted players who make their first 53-man roster, the average is around six years.

According to Business Insider, the average NFL career for a first-round pick is 9.3 years.

Several Nick Saban players drafted in first rounds during 2009 – 2012 have beaten that average.

A complete list of those 2009-2012 first-rounders is provided below, with their NFL career summaries.

Alabama Football NFL First-Rounders 2009-2012

• Andre Smith – No. 6 pick in 2009 by the Bengals. Smith has played 13 NFL seasons and appeared in 121 games, with 98 starts. His estimated NFL career earnings are in excess of $52M.
• Rolando McClain – No. 8 pick in 2020 by the Raiders. Rolando played for five seasons with Oakland and Dallas. He appeared in 65 NGL games with 61 starts. His estimated career earnings are $24.7M.
• Kareem Jackson – No. 20 pick in 2010 by Houston. Jackson has played 12 NFL seasons, and appeared in 276 games for Houston and Denver, with 168 starts. His estimated career earnings are $74.7M.
• Marcel Dareus – No. 3 pick in 2022 by the Bills. Marcel played nine seasons in the NFL and appeared in 121 games with 107 starts. His estimated career earnings are $87.1M.
• Julio Jones – No. 6 pick in 2011 by the Falcons. Julio has played 11 NFL seasons with Atlanta and Tennessee and appeared in 145 games with 144 starts. His estimated career earnings are $140.6M.
• James Carpenter – No. 25 pick in 2011 by Seattle. Carpenter has played 11 NFL seasons and appeared in 132 games with 122 starts. His estimated career earnings are $37.7M.
• Mark Ingram – No. 28 pick in 2011 by New Orleans. Ingram has played 11 NFL seasons and appeared in 146 games with 97 starts. His estimated career earnings are $34.7M.
• Trent Richardson – No. 3 pick in 2012 by Cleveland. Trent played three NFL seasons and appeared in 46 games, with 37 starts. His estimated career earnings are $18M.
• Mark Barron – No. 7 pick in 2012. Barron played eight NFL seasons and appeared in 119 games with 102 starts. His estimated career earnings are $50.8M. Barron was on a ninth NFL roster in 2020 with Denver but saw no game action.
• Dre Kirkpatrick – No. 17 pick in 2012 by the Bengals. Kirkpatrick has played 10 NFL seasons and appeared in 119 games, with 79 starts. His estimated career earnings are $50.4M.
• Dont’a Hightower – No. 25 pick in 2012 by the Patriots. Hightower has played 10 NFL seasons and appeared in 117 games with 114 starts. His estimated career earnings are $52.8M.

The current average of NFL careers for the 11 former Alabama football players is 9.45 seasons. Four to six of them are expected to make 2022 NFL 53-man rosters which will increase the average. In addition, after taking out the disappointing careers of Rolando McClain and Trent Richardson,  the average goes up to 11.55 seasons.

Note: Player career information from pro-reference.com and spotrac.com

This deep dive shows former Alabama football first-rounders typically sustain longer than average NFL careers. That is another example of Nick Saban’s favorite phrase – creating value.