In a very unpopular decision with fans when it was announced, the Auburn Tigers are opening up the 2026 college football season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to take on the Baylor Bears. Auburn defeated Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco last year 38-24, but while the return game will be in the Deep South, it won't be a true home-and-home.
That was a bitter pill to swallow from the jump. Since, though, the Peach Bowl has made it understandable. After all, Tigers players will receive up to $6 million in NIL payments from the Week 1 matchup versus the Bears.
Could you really be mad at a game that puts money in the players' pockets? Well, you could, but you shouldn't. It's not like Atlanta isn't a fairly short drive from the Plains in the grand scheme of things. I20 and I85 will get you there. Skybar and the downtown Auburn scene will be missed for postgame fun, but there's no shortage of nightlife in the ATL.
Auburn's NIL deal for the Baylor game may start a CFB trend
Peach Bowl Inc. CEO David Epps explained that this could be the beginning of a trend in the sport. Players could begin getting paid to take part in neutral-site games instead of playing at their home stadium.
“In the new NIL era of college football, this will be an innovative way to create wins for the teams, programs and student-athletes. This new model is a true win-win scenario where Auburn and its student-athletes get a financial boost in the NIL space. At the same time, it’s a potential gamechanger for neutral-site games like ours who want to bring added value to participating teams and make it a more attractive and lucrative opportunity," Epps said.
Looking forward, you wonder if it'll become a rotating tradition for the Peach Bowl to have AU, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Georgia Bulldogs opening up the season in Atlanta in exchange for a big NIL payday. Clearly, this is something that other stadiums in marquee cities will try as well.
The Cotton Bowl Athletic Association could offer the same thing for a rotating cast that includes the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and Texas Tech Red Raiders to bring business to the DFW. How about the Fiesta Sports Foundation doing the same thing with the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils? Let's take it a step further with the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, which could attract Texas teams, Mississippi teams, mainly the Ole Miss Rebels, or even the LSU Tigers, why don't we?
This concept could and most likely will grow into a nationwide trend. It'd be an undisputed loss for tradition in the sport, but it's not like tradition has picked up any significant recent wins anyway.
It's painful to have one less trip to the Loveliest Village. It's painful to live or have a business in Auburn and lose a major weekend on the calendar.
Still, an extra SEC game helps outweigh this, and money going to the players should put it all into perspective for fans.
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