When you think of Nick Saban and Alabama's dynasty years, Coach Saban never put all of his eggs in one basket when trying to reel in big fish acquisitions. He always stood on his set price on what he was willing to give players and never budged. Kalen DeBoer and Tide GM Courtney Morgan may have just had their Saban moment yesterday after seeing the rumors of how much Texas spent to snag Cam Coleman in the Transfer Portal.
I haven't heard the details yet, but I would think Texas paid $3 to $ 3.5 million for Coleman, maybe more. I doubt Alabama was ever in the ballpark. https://t.co/E9TovB3Vh5
— Shannon Terry (@ShannonTerry) January 11, 2026
Alabama probably wasn't in the ballpark with Cam Coleman offer
If true, then I think the Tide may have dodged a bullet in the long run by not matching the Longhorns' energy to throw the bag at Coleman. I say this to people, though Coleman is ultra talented, DeBoer knows Alabama is not in a position to be irresponsibly spending that dollar amount on just one player when there are still several positions of need on the Crimson Tide roster.
I mean, don't get me wrong, yes, Alabama has the resources, but I believe DeBoer and company know that it would be irresponsible to just spend it all on one place, especially when a portion of the money could be used to continue building their offensive line. On top of that, Alabama has never operated that way when it comes to being big spenders in the NIL era.
Just look at last season's top 5 NIL earners and the programs they represent. Arch Manning (Texas) had an NIL valuation of roughly $5.3-$6.8 million, Carson Beck's (Miami) price tag around $4.3-$4.9 million, Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) made roughly around $4.2 million, Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) was dished out $3.8 million, and LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) raked in $3.7 million. Even other schools like Michigan broke the bank, dropping $3 million in NIL to then 5-star true freshman QB Bryce Underwood before he even made his collegiate debut.
Meanwhile, Ryan Williams was Alabama's highest paid player at 2.7 million. Williams just had his deal restructured with Alabama after a sophomore slump in 2025, this why it's hard pressed for me to believe that Alabama was ever truly ever had a chance of being in Texas' ballpark as the dust settles in the Coleman sweepstakes.
Nowadays in college football, it's all money-driven. And in my mind, Coleman's asking price was just something Alabama ultimately couldn't afford to pay, knowing all the holes they have on both sides of the football they yet to fill. DeBoer seems like he'd rather spread the wealth and develop talent from the ground up. This showed in Alabama's early off-season moves when resigning players like Lotzeir Brooks and their ability to reconcile things with Rico Scott to get him to withdraw his name from the transfer portal.
Nevertheless, Alabama fans have to accept that these factors may be the reason why they whiffed on Coleman and Hollywood Smothers. DeBoer has a different way of doing things compared to other programs around the country when it comes to players that charge a premium. This is why I think the sooner Alabama fans temper their expectations, the better off they'll be.