Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has already made almost $1 million in sponsorship and endorsement money, according to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, Yahoo Sports has reported.
Saban’s statement comes as college athletes nationwide have been permitted since July 1 to make money off their name and image rights after the NCAA rescinded its restrictive rules limiting the rights of athletes due to state laws superseding NCAA rules.
Saban made his comments at the Texas High School Coaches Association convention, saying that Young “already has approached ungodly numbers. I’m not going to say what they are. He hasn’t even played yet. He hasn’t been a starter. If I told you what he’s … it’s almost 7-figures,” according to 24/7 Sports.
Young was Alabama's backup quarterback this past season, playing sparingly after arriving as the top quarterback nationwide in the class of 2020.
Upon hearing the figures for his endorsements, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said he was "blown away" by how much Young's deals were worth, according to Yahoo Sports.
Saban made $9.1 million as Alabama's head coach last season, Yahoo Sports pointed out. Since the school has become the dominant program in college football since Saban arrived, the coach has generated more in revenue than Alabama has paid him.
As Alabama's presumed starter, Young is also clearly worth a large sum of money, according to the news site.
Yahoo Sports speculated that Saban might have been bragging about Young's endorsement deals in Texas, because the state is such a huge recruiting ground for universities. Spreading the word about the potential earning power at Alabama to top Texas coaches, who will tell their best players what Saban said, is a powerful tool to attract the best players.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, a former Saban assistant, said that he didn't view the opportunity for players to make money off themselves as something that would fundamentally change college football.
“I don’t think personally that it’s going to blow up college football or change anything substantially,” Smart said.