Career NFL Earnings Among Nick Saban's Former Alabama Players Reaches New Milestone

It's like Alabama football's ultimate version of king of the hill and we're about to have a new leader — although in this case top tycoon might be a better title.

Among Nick Saban's former college football players with the Crimson Tide, wide receiver Julio Jones has made the most money in the National Football League, with $149 million in career earnings through 2023, when he retired from the game at the age of 34.

While we can only imagine what he might have been able to add on with a few more seasons, Jones will soon be topped and no longer be first on Alabama's all-time career earnings list. Not only will it happen sometime over the next season, but he might not stay in the top five much longer.

For some perspective, the best contract Jones signed was with the three-year, $66-million extension with the Falcons in 2019, which included $64 million guaranteed, making him the NFL's highest-paid wide receiver at the time. Now compare that to some of the contracts his former Crimson Tide colleagues have inked:

• When cornerback Patrick Surtain II landed a four-year, $96-million contract with the Denver Broncos before the 2024 season it was a record-setting extension, and made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. Due to changes in the market for cornerbacks, it's already been tweaked to bring his annual average up to roughly $29 million.

• Houston Texans defensive end/edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.'s recent contract extension was a three-year, $150-million deal, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. It averages $50 million per year, most of which is guaranteed.

• Quarterback Jalen Hurts' contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 was for five years, $255 million. The deal runs through the 2028 season, and could bring his career earnings up to $265,905,119.

Meanwhile, among defensive linemen, Jonathan Allen will be up to $126,470, 829 next year. Da’Ron Payne will be up to $111,800.693. Quinnen Williams, now with the Dallas Cowboys, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028. When his four-year, $96 million extension was signed his average pay was the second-highest for a defensive tackle in NFL history. His next deal could see him rocket past Jones as well.

All three have blown past Marcell Dareus, the No. 3-overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, who made $87 million in the league through 2019. This past year he dropped from fourth in NFL's earnings among Saban's former Crimson Tide players, to 10th.

The turnover near the top is nothing new. Just two years ago, defensive back Kareem Jackson was also in the top five. He’s now 14th.

Once one understands how the money at the top has changed, as the NFL salary cap has gone from $208.2 million in 2022, to $301.2 million for 2026, it's easy to see how the career earnings for Saban's former Crimson Tide players went from $2.26 billion two years ago, to $2,96 billion this time last year.

The new total is $3.46 billion.

Just to be clear, that's what they've made, and not for what they're under contract, and through last season. It's among 178 players who played at Alabama between 2007-23 season, most of whom were selected in the 2008-2024 NFL drafts. who had at least a cup of coffee in the NFL, meaning they received some sort of payout. Anyone who played collegiately after Saban's departure doesn't count, nor does anyone who transferred to another program — the lone exception being Hurts, who claims both Alabama and Oklahoma, as discussed in part I of our Follow the Money series that included career NFL earnings to determine Position U status.

The breakdown includes 139 former Alabama players who have made at least $1 million in the NFL, 91 have topped $5 million, 68 have exceeded $10 million, and 27 have banked more than $50 million.

As noted in part II of our series, which focussed on the defensive players there's only one on that side of the ball who has reached $100 million, cornerback Marlon Humphrey — who is about to play out the final year of his contract with the Baltimore Ravens — to go with four offensive players. But his position group, meaning cornerbacks and safeties, is way out ahead in overall earnings at the next level.

Crimson Tide's NFL Earnings By Position Group

1. Defensive backs (37 players) $750,329,825
2. Defensie tackles (22) $627,274,391
3. Wide receivers (19) $585,190,636
4. Offensive linemen (30) $523,129,907
5. Quarterbacks (9) $305,869,830
6. Running backs (15) $276,254,419
7. Linebackers (17) $259,876,050
8. Defensive End/Edge Rushers (14) $ 72,914,391
9. Tight ends (8) $35,109,458
10. Special teams (7) $23,980,688

Perhaps it's only fitting that Saban called himself a defensive backs coach during practices, and personally ran them through individual drills. His cornerbacks and safeties have both made more, $407,723,010 and $342,606,815, respectively, than his quarterbacks, running backs and linebackers.

Could that change in the near future? Yes. Tua Tagovailoa may have signed a one-year, $1.215 million veteran minimum contract with the Atlanta Falcons for this upcoming season, but after releasing him the Miami Dolphins are still responsible for the $54 million guaranteed salary (minus what he makes with his new team). His four-year, $212.4 million extension with the team that selected him with the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft,. contained $167.1 million in total guarantees.

Also, the Carolina Panthers exercised the fifth-year option on Bryce Young for 2027 at $25.9 million, which will either lead to the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to a hefty contract extension or becoming a free agent. Currently, the average starting quarterback makes between $40-$45 million per season. That leads us to Mac Jones , who is in the last season in a two-year deal with the 49ers. Might the No, 15 pick in the 2021 draft get another shot as a starting quarterback?

For more on all former Crimson Tide players and their status check out the Ultimate Bama in the NFL Database including contract info, active players by team and position, all-time listing, all-time draft selections and by Super Bowl.

In the meantime, three final important notes regarding active NFL players for revealing the top 50 NFL career earners among Saban's players at Alabama:

1) As of July 1, Alabama had 73 players on active NFL rosters, including players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that was only one more than Georgia, and two ahead of Ohio State. The official annual tally isn't done until kickoff weekend for the regular season, the only time during the year when rosters are frozen.

2) Per overthecap.com, former Crimson Tide players lead all colleges in NFL cap dollars at $379,621,466. This includes active players who entered the league after the Saban era at Alabama had ended.

3) The combined earnings of active NFL players by school database at spotrac.com had Ohio State slightly ahead of Alabama ($446,930,790 to $429,781,240), but again that included players from after the Saban era. Who won the national title during his first year out of coaching? The Buckeyes, who subsequently had 14 players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Top 50 NFL Earnings Nick Saban Alabama Players

Through June 2026; * indicates active player

Rank	Name	Pos.	Lettered	Career Earnings	Prev. Rank
1	Julio Jones	WR	2008-10	$149,167,021	1
2	Amari Cooper	WR	2012-14	$138,442,228	2
3	Tua Tagovailoa*	QB	2017-19	$124,378,454	3
4	Jalen Hurts*	QB	2016-18	$111,405,119	12
5	Marlon Humphrey*	CB	2015-16	$101,032,093	5
6	C.J. Mosley	LB	2010-13	$98,906,002	3
7	Jonathan Allen*	DL	2013-16	$93,470,829	7
8	Quinnen Williams*	DT	2017-18	$91,179,549	8
9	Da'Ron Payne*	DT	2015-17	$89,390,693	10
10	Marcell Dareus	DT	2008-10	$87,134,946	4
11	Minkah Fitzpatrick*	DB	2015-17	$85,072,006	14
12	Derrick Henry*	RB	2013-15	$81,472,749	15
13	Cam Robinson*	T	2014-16	$81,168,132	11
14	Kareem Jackson	CB	2007-09	$79,835,715	6
15	Ryan Kelly	C	2012-15	$76,846,154	13
16	Calvin Ridley*	WR	2015-17	$69,952,584	23
17	Dalvin Tomlinson*	DT	2013-16	$68,155,754	16
18	Jonah Williams*	T	2016-18	$59,817,582	24
19	Jaylen Waddle*	WR	2018-20	$58,715,175	25
20	Patrick Surtain II*	CB	2018-20	$58,133,938	33
21	Dont'a Hightower	LB	2008-11	$52,803,039	17
22	Andre Smith	OL	2007-08	$52,118,506	18
23	Eddie Jackson	DB	2013-16	$51,264,225	19
24	Mark Barron	S	2008-11	$50,823,867	20
25	DeVonta Smith*	WR	2017-20	$50,734,912	27
26	Jerry Jeudy*	WR	2017-19	$50,560,984	34
27	Dre Kirkpatrick	CB	2009-11	$50,403,046	21
28	Landon Collins	S	2012-14	$49,513,931	22
29	Trevon Diggs*	CB	2016-19	$47,121,854	28
30	Josh Jacobs*	RB	2016-18	$46,813,951	26
31	A'Shawn Robinson*	DL	2013-15	$45,226,912	32
32	Xavier McKinney*	S	2017-19	$45,379,276	36
33	Jarran Reed*	DT	2014-15	$44,829,220	29
34	Christian Barmore*	DT	2019-20	$38,031,694	39
35	Mark Ingram II	RB	2008-10	$36,823,116	30
36	James Carpenter	T	2009-10	$36,752,650	31
37	Landon Dickerson*	OL	2019-20	$35,964,409	37
38	Jedrick Wills Jr.*	T	2017-19	$34,111,378	35
39	Bryce Young*	QB	2020-22	$32,127,836	38
40	Jameson Williams*	WR	2021	$31,213,765	55
41	Will Anderson Jr.*	DE	2020-22	$29,670,167	41
42	Kenyan Drake	RB	2012-15	$25,880,239	40
43	Bradley Bozeman	OL	2014-17	$25,077,507	47
44	Rolando McClain	LB	2007-09	$24,743,357	42
45	O.J. Howard	TE	2013-16	$20,790,104	43
46	Evan Neal*	OL	2019-21	$24,561,338	55
47	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	S	2011-13	$20,479,938	45
48	D.J. Fluker	T	2010-12	$20,148,228	46
49	Mac Jones*	QB	2018-20	$19,836,352	51
50	JC Latham*	OL	2021-23	$18,544,648	49

Falling out of the top 50: Trent Richardson and AJ McCarron

Poised to move into top 50: Najee Harris*, Mack Wilson* and Jahmyr Gibbs*

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