Alabama football players must be paid after NCAA settlement

Happy Friday everyone. Alabama softball opens Super Regional play today in Knoxville. The first pitch is at 3:00 PM CTand can be seen on ESPN2.

With the unanimous passage of the House settlement yesterday, college football effectively died in favor of a semi-pro model.

Power conference schools are preparing to share about 20% of their media rights revenue with the athletes. The total could exceed $20 million per school per year, further making the big boys the premier destination for the nation's most talented players. Even if Group of Five or FCS teams set aside a similar percentage of their media rights deals for player compensation, it will pale in comparison and widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. While big-brand schools have always been the preferred landing spots for most high-profile players, the compensation model of the pre-NIL era was the same: players were not allowed to earn anything. Then came NIL and the removal of transfer restrictions, making it harder for resource-constrained programs to attract and retain talent. This settlement is yet another setback to the competitive aspirations of those outside the power conference structure.

The SEC and Big Ten are the only two power conferences left when it comes to football, and this settlement will only widen the gap between these two leagues and all the others. The logical next step will be a salary cap, which will undoubtedly be the subject of a lawsuit aimed at creating parity between the two. There will be a three-loss national champion sooner or later, folks.

Kalen DeBoer is happy to have Kadyn Proctor back.

Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer didn't answer a question when asked how big of a deal it was to bring left tackle Kadyn Proctor back into the fold.

He was a man who would play an important role in the program, DeBoer said. To lose him and now get him back, that's a big deal for us. I think he just did a great job of working with his friends, but especially with his teammates. I'm happy to have him involved in our training again this summer.

May he look like the surefire first-rounder he was billed as coming out of high school.

The Wisconsin Beat seems optimistic about their early season matchup at Alabama.

This would have been an epic night game at Camp Randall Stadium, with the best atmosphere in recent memory. Instead, it earned the Big Noon Saturday treatment from Fox. Other than that decision, the match is as exciting as any on the schedule. It's another Alabama team with Nick Saban retiring this offseason. Yet, they are still a formidable team that will likely open the season in the top 10. Fickell will have a chance to pull off a signature win during his short time in Wisconsin.

Alabama currently leads all programs in NFL players.

Nick Saban sometimes developed an incredible amount of talent during his storied career at Alabama and will continue to see some of its former players trickle into the NFL in the years to come. As it stands, his Crimson Tide program is responsible for easily the most professional players of any school. By Dirk Hendrik Unpleasant Tua Tagovailoa And Minka Fitzpatrick Unpleasant Jos Jacobsa wide swath of the league's biggest names played college ball under the tutelage of Sabans in Tuscaloosa.

By far, it says. I can't emphasize that enough.

Jon Allen seems happy with his new coaches.

“I like the coaching staff, I like the direction we're moving, I like the way we're working,” Allen said after practice on Wednesday. It was truly reinvigorating and just so much fun to come to work every day. This is literally a dream job right now.

A dream after a nightmare 4-13 season that was not good for many people around the Commanders. It certainly wasn't Allen's best, following Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and 2022.

A change of scenery certainly could have been in the cards, especially considering Allen no longer has guaranteed money on his contract, which has two years left on it.

Conversations over the past few months with Peters and Quinn brought them all on the same page.

“We just talked about what we want this thing to look like, and I'm on board with it,” Allen said. Obviously I'm emotional, and last year was tough. But as time goes by, you learn from the past and prepare for the future, and I'm super excited about what we've done.

Finally, this is pretty cool from Jalen Hurts.

My favorite college football memory was the beginning of it all, when I enrolled early, Hurts said. Immediately, I was pushed to be the scout team quarterback, as if I were essentially a senior in high school. I was the scout team quarterback. I played Deshaun Watson on the scout team. I learned a lot quickly. I earned my respect so quickly, but it was quite a challenge. But it was fun. I think that was probably the best part for me, my favorite memory, because I made a lot of good friends. I just earned their respect as a young man.

That's it for today. Nice weekend.

Roll tide.