As the Auburn football team is slowly gaining recruiting momentum and adding prospects to the newly counted six-member class of 2022 with today’s addition of Jay Fair, the Alabama Crimson Tide is unsurprisingly ahead of everyone on the recruiting trail.
The Crimson Tide’s recruiting class of 2022 is currently No. 2 in the SEC and No. 6 in the nation and is made up of 11 hard commits, per 247Sports. There are three 5-star athletes, seven 4-stars, and one 3-star.
Today, Nick Saban spoke at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention and dropped a NIL-related bomb on the thousands of coaches in attendance. According to Saban, despite the fact that sophomore quarterback Bryce Young has yet to play and spent his freshman year as the backup to Mac Jones, Young is approaching seven figures in NIL earnings.
Nick Saban is talking at the Texas HS Coaches Association convention today. He was asked about NIL. Apparently, Bryce Young is doing quite well.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) July 20, 2021
“Our QB has already approached ungodly numbers, and he hasn’t even played yet. If I told you what it is … it’s almost 7-figures."
According to CBS Sports, it wouldn’t be surprising if Young is earning that much money due to the fact that he’s already signed with CAA and has a deal with Cashapp. On the flip side, one Auburn beat reporter points out it’s highly unlikely:
There is no way Bryce Young is making double the endorsement money of Philip Rivers. pic.twitter.com/lB5M2DDzQO
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) July 20, 2021
Even with almost 83,000 followers on Instagram and a reputation as the No. 1 quarterback in the recruiting class of 2020, could Young really be on his way to becoming a millionaire through NIL endorsements? Will this foster the sort of resentment and jealousy former Auburn star Charles Barkley fears?
Either way, it doesn’t help Auburn football in their recruiting battles with the Tide. Within the next few years, we hope to see Bryan Harsin make his mark in the SEC and compete with Saban for these high-quality recruits.