What Nick Saban's Former Alabama Players Have Made in the NFL

So how high can this go? it's difficult to say because NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed and there's no way of knowing how long everyone may play, especially some of the younger guys. Plus, the $2.96 billion is in career earnings, meaning what the players have already received, and not for what they're under contract.

To understand the difference, consider standout cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who signed a new deal last September with the Denver Broncos, for four years, and worth $96 million. There are all sorts of conditions that have to be met for him to get every penny of it, but the breakdown included a $15 million signing bonus, $77.5 million of the contract is guaranteed, and he's due to have an average salary of $24 million through 2029.

This season, in 2025, Surtain II will have a base salary of $1.17 million and a signing bonus of $21 million, giving him an expected total of $22,170,000, which doesn't count toward his career earnings yet. That's why he's 33rd on the subsequent Saban Alabama-coached career earnings list having made $35,962,678.

A couple more important notes in how the list was put together:

1) Any player who was still on the Alabama roster after Saban departed doesn't count. So even though recent draft picks Tyler Booker, Jihaad Campbell, Jalen Milroe and Malachi Moore played most of their careers under Saban, they get credited to Kalen DeBoer by the league. Hey, you have to draw the line somewhere.

2) The same thing applies to transfers who departed, they count toward the coach and school where he finished playing college football. There's one notable exemption to that for our purposes, Jalen Hurts. He claims both schools so we include him in our Bama in the NFL Database. However, the NFL credits him to Oklahoma, so he's not included in the following two charts:

3) Recent contract signings won't count yet as the compiled figures are only through the 2024-25 season. For example, Ryan Kelly is at No. 13 with nearly $68 million. He made all that with the Indianapolis Colts from 2016 through 2024, through his four-year rookie contract and subsequent four-year extension. The two-year, $18 million contract he recently signed with the Minnesota Vikings, with a $6.635 million signing bonus, is not factored in yet.

Similarly, the $76 million earned by defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, which has him at No. 7 on the Saban Alabama-coach career earnings list, was all at Washington. It does not include yet the three-year $51 million free-agent contract he signed with the Vikings, which has a $14 million signing bonus, and bonuses for being active, playing time and sacks. Barring any setbacks he's on pace to top $100 career earnings during the 2026 season.

While a couple of other former Crimson Tide players are closing in on the $100 million plateau (like Marlon Humphrey and Tua Tagovailoa), something extra to keep an eye on is the No. 1 spot as wide receiver Amari Copper, a 10-year veteran who has made at least $20 million in each of the last five seasons, is still a free agent. He's roughly $12.5 million behind Jones.