3 SEC football programs that were way better off before NIL

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Alabama Crimson Tide
The University of Alabama is the poster child for falling off in College Football once pay-to-play became a thing. Since 2021, they've made several CFP appearances but haven't gotten over the hump.

From 2009 to 2020, the Crimson Tide won six times. The drop-off has been stark. After the 2023 season, Nick Saban retired to avoid what the system had become. Kalen DeBoer has not raised much in donations from boosters in his stead, and the "Bama Standard" culture has been lowered through his philosophies on out-scheming and not outworking.

It didn't help that the basketball program's rise under Nate Oats meant funds had to be distributed on the hardwood as well. The University of Alabama simply may not have the money to compete in the NIL/rev-share era.

Auburn Tigers
While the Crimson Tide's standard dropped from championship contenders to a team that either just made or just missed the CFP, the Auburn Tigers went from a bowl-eligible team every year to one that couldn't sniff the CFP or finish with a winning record.

Auburn doesn't have the same problems with raising money that Alabama does, but the Tigers have fired two coaches since NIL became a thing. It's tough to pay players top-dollar when you're still dishing out buyout money to multiple head coaches. Since 2020, Gus Malzahn, Bryan Harsin, and Hugh Freeze have all been sent their walking papers.

Bad personnel choices have doomed AU in the NIL/rev-share era more than anything else, though, like the Tide, the Tigers also focused resources on a competitive basketball team from 2021 to 2025.

Florida Gators
Like Auburn, the Florida Gators' personnel decisions have been the bane of the football program's existence since 2021, not spending. Florida is one of the most well-funded teams in the country, and has not seen a drop-off in recruiting.

UF's fatal flaw has been on-field results. Just like when the Tigers fired Malzahn, the Gators did themselves a disservice by getting rid of Dan Mullen without a logical replacement. As it turned out, Billy Napier wasn't ready for a step up to the SEC.

Florida tried to make it work for too long, though. Once the creme de la creme under Urban Meyer, the Gators are an afterthought in the SEC, with the rival Georgia Bulldogs lapping them many times over in a short time.

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