It is never easy to hear speculations about your team’s financial and personnel troubles. Not only does the news take a toll on fans, but it also leaves players susceptible to second thoughts. It’s quite the same story with this football program. A blueblood program that has won it all. And when we’d name it, you’d be like ‘Whatt?’. The net loss was reported to be around $27.9 Million, with players leaving left, right, and centre. Let’s dive into the details and really see how it all unfolded.

It all really started with the commencement of the 2024 season itself as Alabama Crimson Tide entered into 2024 with a new coach at their helm, Kalen DeBoer. Remember the glorious years under Nick Saban? The GOAT of college football coaching won everything there was to be won- and did it again, and again. His replacement had led the Huskies to the natty final. After an on and off season under the new head coach, Bama was looking to go into the off season to start afresh. Their NCAA revenue and expenses report for FY 2024 hasn’t helped their case.

For starters, the main factor behind the reported loss was the payment of $47.4 Million for FY 2024 to the coaching staff. A number which rose by  $26.1 Million (more than double) from the previous year. The reported loss has come for the second consecutive time, which was almost $14 Million during the last year but wasn’t counted as it was explained to be gift endowments.

The $27 Million figure loss is not the end of the woes the team is facing. Other than that, Alabama has also reported a dip in its profits at around $26.4 Million. Almost $21 Million less than in 2023 and $25.6 Million less than in 2022. The program, in its statement, has tried to clarify the losses in a statement. It said, “The net loss reported for the year was largely due to one-time expenses associated with the football coaching transition“. Whatever may be the statement, the fans will surely want everything to be rectified as soon as possible. All things said, let’s now dive into other woes the team is dealing with.

Alabama supporters certainly would be no stranger to their 19-13 devastating loss in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan Wolverines on 31st Dec 2024. However coping with the loss is one thing, but seeing your team’s key players leave abruptly after the loss doesn’t really help. That’s exactly what happened after the game when 9 players decided to enter the transfer portal.

It’s not as if the events transpired because of the loss itself because earlier, 15 players had already departed. For instance, the three-star tight end Danny Lewis announced entering the transfer portal well before the game along with key players like Kobe Prentice (WR), Jahlil Hurly(CB), and Caleb Odom(WR). However, let’s look into the details of the team’s performance and the future going forward.

The team’s season performance and its future

The Alabama coach, Kalen Deboer, certainly didn’t have a very great season in all respects. The team had already accumulated two losses going into November. And a disappointing 9-4 record speaks volumes about the lack of intensity and standards that a team like Alabama demands.

Speaking to the press after the ReliaQuest Bowl loss, the coach reflected on the season. He said, “I mean, every time you’re in the locker room and you have something like this it’s disappointing. But I think there’s a lot of things that you take from it. I know that the guys that hung in there and probably played their last game in the crimson and white… As long as we learn from it, then to me, it can be a success moving forward. We’re going to take all these things that happened and there’s some things that happened in the game today. We’ve got to learn from it and make sure those mistakes don’t hurt us a year from now“. However, there may still be a silver lining in all this chaos. So, let’s discuss that.

The exodus may well have left Alabama in utter dread. However, they did add several reinforcements, like Linebacker Nikhai Hill Green and Offensive lineman Kam Dewberry from Texas. Furthermore, they added almost 15 more players to act as reinforcements, like Jackson Loyd (Offensive Lineman) and Justin Hill (Rusher). The team will now have to leave their season behind and rise from its ashes.