Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer had a strong opinion on how his team will reap the benefits of revenue-sharing, a model aiming to level the playing field for all of college football.
Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer Believes Revenue Sharing Will Benefit Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide finished the 2024 regular season with a 9-3 record, including 5-3 in SEC play. Head coach Kalen Deboer’s first season with the Crimson Tide was capped off with a 19-13 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl, a fitting finish to a disappointing season.
As DeBoer prepares for the 2025 season and beyond, he discussed the idea of revenue sharing with On3’s Pete Nakos.
“The regulation is really important to the game itself,” DeBoer explained. “That regulation where we’re all on an even playing field from the revenue-sharing standpoint helps us, just because now it comes down to what is important in recruiting, and that’s relationships and sharing your vision.”
NEW: Kalen DeBoer believes revenue sharing can put Alabama back on a ‘balanced playing field,’ he tells @PeteNakos_⬇️
“Having a more balanced playing field helps our situation. It allows us to get where it was at one point just a few years back. Where recruiting is real… pic.twitter.com/z4vzWxFszk
— On3 (@On3sports) February 27, 2025
Pending the final approval of the House settlement, a new player compensation system will be implemented prior to the 2025-26 college football season.
The new model allows programs to share up to $20.5 million with their student-athletes while still allowing third-party boosters to contribute to a school’s NIL fund to assist in roster-building.
DeBoer continued, citing the pull of old Alabama teams — and getting back to that point with revenue-sharing.
“People that want to be aligned with your vision, and then come to a place like Alabama that has the resources, the tradition,” the 50-year-old head coach said. “The regulation and having a more balanced playing field helps our situation. It allows us to get where it was at one point just a few years back. Where recruiting is real recruiting, not just someone who’s gonna put in the highest bid.”
DeBoer may be speaking out of turn here, however.
While he is mentioning the sport being on a level playing field, according to 247 Sports, the Tide brought in the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation for the class of 2024. For the class of 2025, they’re currently slotted at No. 3 with three five-star commits and 16 four-star commits.
However, the new model should center recruiting talks less around NIL valuation and bidding and more on relationships and fit, as DeBoer mentioned.
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Football coaches all around the country will be breathing a sigh of relief when this idea is implemented. The hope is that they can get back to coaching football for a majority of their time—something that may have factored into the retirement of DeBoer’s predecessor, legendary coach Nick Saban.
It may seem odd to hear a head coach with a top-tier program say the new player compensation system will level the playing field for his program, but it will be set in place with hopes of improving and regulating the NIL, transfer portal, and recruiting landscape overall.
Therefore, simplifying DeBoer’s job will allow him to focus on the product on the field.
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