Jalen Milroe found his footing in the Iron Bowl, 2024. He shredded Auburn with 360 total yards and three touchdowns, lifting Alabama to a 28-14 win and keeping postseason hopes alive. Right then, Milroe probably knew he had made the right call sticking it out in Tuscaloosa, even after a seven-figure NIL offer tried to pull him away. 

“I was offered so much money to leave from any school I wanted to go to,” said Milroe on the Closed on Sundays with Pat and Terrion podcast. “I’m talking about more than 2.5 million.”

Back at that time, Milroe’s NIL valuation was $1.6 million. He lagged behind his then-competitors like Texas’ Quinn Ewers, whose NIL value was $1.9 million, followed by the Longhorns’ star Arch Manning at $2.4 million, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders leading the charts at $4.6 million.

In the transfer portal era, quarterbacks run the market as no position cashes in bigger. Everyone saw the hefty deal Carson Beck landed to suit up for the Miami Hurricanes. And when Saban stepped away, Milroe was the hot target at Alabama, the program’s marquee star. Then what made him try his luck under debut coach Kalen DeBoer?

The 2023 season tested Milroe early. A Week 3 benching could’ve derailed him. But the then-Alabama quarterback showed improvement and reclaimed the starting job a week later. He then powered Alabama to an SEC crown, a CFP appearance, and a sixth-place Heisman finish. So, Alabama witnessed both his lows and glow-ups.

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The camp was already heated up with the dominoes falling after Saban’s exit. Star safety Caleb Downs left Alabama and joined Ohio State. Right after him, Crimson Tide quarterback Julian Sayin followed Downs to Columbus. But Milroe chose to stay back in Alabama as his decision leaned on three factors- faith, family, and football. 

And the trusting process was the other way around. Just as Milroe risked his future trusting DeBoer’s debut head coaching stint, the head coach also did not bench the quarterback, even after he struggled in the ReliaQuest Bowl. 

The bowl game went sideways in a hurry for Alabama. Milroe’s three turnovers on the opening four possessions, each punished by Michigan, left the Tide staring at a brutal 16-0 deficit, which eventually led to a 19-13 defeat.

“No, I didn’t,” DeBoer said on why he did not bench Milroe. “There’s things that he did. We scored a field goal with him using his legs,” DeBoer said. “We went 95 yards in less than a minute. So just that factor and what we needed with him and his mobility added to the run game, I felt like that was the swap.”

That trust didn’t go to waste. Milroe flipped the switch in the second quarter, marching the Tide downfield twice and trimming the gap to 16-10. Along with Milroe, linebacker Deontae Lawson also did not run after the change. 

While Milroe went on to the NFL, his successor, Ty Simpson, made him proud with his commitment to Alabama.

Ty Simpson stuck to his commitment to Alabama even though the transfer portal came calling hard

Crimson Tide fans must be upset that Simpson changed his mind and decided not to return for the next season, instead declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. However, there is a bigger story to it. As soon as Simpson declared his availability, suitors started roaming around him, pushing him to stay in college football one more year, opening the transfer portal gates.

Offers reportedly ranged between $4 million and $6.5 million. However, the Alabama quarterback did not flinch from his decision to take his talents to the pro league. 

“There is no doubt in my mind that the last jersey I wanted to wear in college was the Alabama Crimson Tide jersey,” Simpson said in an interview with AL.com. “I came there. I stayed there. The last thing I wanted to do was tarnish my legacy and go somewhere else where I didn’t go out of high school, and I didn’t want to play.”

This mindset deserves respect, even if it’s becoming rare. With college football entering the business era, Alabama has been lucky to have guys like Milroe and Simpson who chose commitment over fat checks.