After Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson declared for the draft, multiple schools tried to get him to enter the portal. He decided not to change his intended course.
Mainly because he couldn’t imagine changing to a different uniform.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the last jersey I wanted to wear in college was the Alabama Crimson Tide jersey,” Simpson told AL.com, via ESPN.com. “I came there. I stayed there.”
Potential destinations for 2026 included Miami, Oregon, and Tennessee. One school reportedly offered $6.5 million.
Given the current state of NIL deals, he could have made more in one more year of college than he’ll make in his entire four-year rookie deal, depending on when he’s drafted. In the 2025 draft, the 13th pick in round three (77th overall) received a four-year contract with a total value of $6.5 million.
“The last thing I wanted to do was tarnish my legacy and go somewhere else where I didn’t go out of high school and I didn’t want to play,” Simpson said. “Hopefully in the draft whenever my name gets written on a card, they write the University of Alabama on there. It’s going to give me great pride. . . . It means a lot to me to be able to show my kids when they’re older to come back and say their dad played here and was a captain.”
It’s an admirable mindset, even if it’s quickly becoming outdated. College football is no less of a business than the NFL. The best news is that the players are now able to make real business decisions. Even if the ultimate factor is something other than business.
Simpson made his. The fact that he had the ability to consider all options and pick one is a clear example of the progress college football has made, as it relates to the interests of those who play the games.
