NIL Deals Not a Distraction for Alabama Players, QB Bryce Young

Kool-Aid McKinstry made the seemingly inevitable NIL deal with the brand Kool-Aid on Wednesday. Sophomore defensive back Malachi Moore has signed deals with Milo's and Bojangles. Many other players have made contracts with brands big and small.

At SEC Media Days in July, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said that quarterback Bryce Young was nearing seven-figures in name, image and likeness deals. Young spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday and was asked if his potential monetary success is something he has to address in the locker room.

"That really goes back to our culture," Young said. "There's always been distractions, and there always will be distractions, that's something that Saban has talked about and instilled in us for a long time. For us, we all know that whatever happens externally for any person doesn't really have anything to do with our goal, and what we're working towards."

Junior defensive lineman DJ Dale said that the opportunities and distractions that come with NIL are only what you make out of it.

"I feel like it just depends on how you handle it," Dale said. "It can be a good thing or a bad thing. For me and my teammates, I just want us to keep the main thing the main thing which is football and school, and I feel like the rest of that will handle itself."

It's almost like the Alabama football players are coached by a disciplined coach who reiterates important messages to his team because Young echoed the same ideas of Dale.

"That's something that we preach a lot about, making sure that we keep the main thing the main thing," Young said. "And we've talked about that a lot in house, and that's something that we really live by. So for us, we're really motivated by working hard and making sure that we attack the challenges the way we want to."

Young said it says a lot about Alabama and the culture established in Tuscaloosa that it's a place where players are presented with opportunities like multi-figure sponsorship deals.

Simply by holding the position of Alabama quarterback, enormous amounts of pressure, expectations and scrutiny are placed on you by fans, local and national media. However, Young is not backing down from those things and knows this is what he came here for.

"Bama is where you come for pressure and come for expectations," Young said.