Three Alabama players picked high in the NFL draft

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University of Alabama head football Coach Nick Saban was at the NFL draft in Kansas City on Thursday, and he didn’t have to wait long for his players to be taken in the first round.

The Tide’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young was the first player taken in the NFL draft. There were plenty of reports by media talking heads that NFL scouts were concerned that the 5-foot 10-inch 205-pound junior was too small to play quarterback in the NFL. Actual NFL scouts felt otherwise, and the Carolina Panthers traded up in the draft to get their quarterback of choice, and they selected Young.

The consensus best defensive player, and arguably the “safest” pick in the NFL draft, was Tide pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. There were no questions about Anderson’s size at 6-foot 4 inch 243 pounds. There are discussions about whether Anderson will split time at linebacker and edge rusher or just play defensive end exclusively. The Houston Texans traded up to get Anderson. He was the first defensive player taken in the draft and the third player taken.

Former Tide standout linebacker DeMeco Ryans is the new head coach at the Texans and is widely considered a defensive genius. The Texans had the number two pick in the draft, and many draft analysts debated whether the Texans would take Anderson or Ohio State Quarterback C.J. Stroud. The answer was actually both, as the Texans took Stroud with the second pick in the draft and traded up to get Anderson with the third pick in the draft.

Most analysts thought the Tide’s first-round night was over once Anderson and Young were both drafted, but that was far from the case. The Detroit Lions chose Tide running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick. Gibbs, who rushed for over nine hundred yards at Alabama, is also a dual-threat back who was very involved in the passing game. Gibbs was the second running back taken in the NFL draft.

The NFL collective bargaining agreement limits the amount of money that rookies can make in their first NFL contracts. However, Young is expected to sign a four-year deal worth $41.2 million, including a $26.9 million signing bonus, according to Spotrac’s projections. Sportstrac estimates that Anderson will receive a $35.2 million deal with a $22.6 million signing bonus. Jaymyr Gibbs should get a $17.8 million deal, including an $8.4 million signing bonus.

Former Tide/Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts did not get drafted until the second round, where the money and the guaranteed money are a lot more limited. He went on to beat Carson Wentz out for the starting job at the Philadelphia Eagles. He took the Eagles to the playoffs in his second season. He won the division and took the Eagles to the Super Bowl. The Eagles rewarded Hurts on Monday with a $255 million contract extension, with $179 million of it guaranteed. The NFL has a hard salary cap where the most that a team can spend on player salaries is $224.8 million in 2023 – that is up $17 million from 2022. Hurts is the second highest-paid player in the NFL behind only Lamar Jackson, who signed a new $2 million a year higher deal on Thursday.

College football has also changed. Not long ago, players got a scholarship to go to school, an assigned room in a student dorm, healthcare, textbooks, some shirts and shoes, and three meals a day at a cafeteria. If they made it, the NFL was the first time they could make money. Young was paid over a million dollars in his name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. Notre Dame Quarterback Tyler Buchner was reportedly offered a lucrative NIL deal to leave the Fighting Irish to join the Crimson Tide.

The on-the-field money is only part of the payoff for being a high-draft pick. Young has recently negotiated endorsement deals with Jordan Brand, Snickers, Beats by Dre, and sports drinks Body Armor and Celsius.

Since 2005, 41 Alabama players have gone in the first round and have made $1.3 billion in combined career earnings – and that does not count Hurts, who was taken in the second round. That is more than any other school during that time period.

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