How Alabama’s Shrewd Buyouts Are Quietly Out-Earning Auburn—and What It Means Next

Friday’s spotlight is shining bright on the Gym Tide as they head to Auburn tonight, aiming to snap a frustrating two-year skid against their longtime adversary. Watching Azaraya Ra-Akbar scoop up SEC Freshman of the Week honors with a near-flawless 9.975 vault? That’s the kind of spark the Tide need right now. Meanwhile, Kristy Curry’s crew took a tough loss to powerhouse South Carolina—not a surprise, but at least they kept it competitive, which says a lot against such a dominant team. With the Crimson Tide gearing up for key showdowns against top-ranked Vanderbilt and Texas on the horizon, every moment counts. Beyond the court and field, Alabama’s financial dominance over Auburn is crystal clear in the latest 2025 figures, and the Tide’s forward-thinking moves in football, from tight end recruitment to coaching additions, point to a solid path ahead. Throw in the NCAA’s looming crackdown over eligibility disputes, and it’s clear the college sports landscape is as intense off the field as it is on. Ready for the full rundown?
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Happy Friday, everyone. The Gym Tide are in Auburn tonight looking to break a two year head-to-head losing streak to their in-state rival. Alabama’s Azaraya Ra-Akbar was named SEC Freshman of the Week following her outstanding performance against Arkansas, which included a near-perfect 9.975 on the vault.

As expected, Kristy Curry’s squad lost against juggernaut South Carolina. They didn’t get completely annihilated though, and that’s saying something against that squad.

On the positive side, the No. 24 Crimson Tide (20-7, 6-7 SEC) seemed to find its shooting touch at times — something that has slipped over the past few games. That was true from deep as they made 10 3-pointers for the first time since the loss to LSU.

Alabama was led by 14 points by Ta’Mia Scott and nine points from Ace Austin.

The Crimson Tide travel to Florida on Sunday for a 11 a.m. CT tipoff on SEC Network.

They really need that one on Sunday, as their last two games are against top 5 opponents Vanderbilt and Texas.

Get someone who loves you like Auburn loves paying coaches not to coach.

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Alabama’s revenue and expenses lead could be seen across multiple categories on the 2025 financial reports. The Crimson Tide beat out Auburn $49.1 million to $35.1 million in ticket sales revenue across all sports, and $42.7 million to $30.7 million in football-only tickets.

Hugh Freeze’s buyout was not included in the 2025 financial numbers, as it happened outside of the fiscal year dates. However, Auburn still outspent Alabama in the severance category, due to previous coach firings, dropping $4.3 million across all sports, while the Crimson Tide did not pay out a single dollar.

Colin Gay examines how Alabama will replace TE Josh Cuevas.

The youth movement started in the 2025 recruiting cycle with two four-star additions in Kaleb Edwards and Marshall Pritchett. Mack Sutter continued that trend in 2026, along with two transfer additions — Josh Ford and Jaxon Shuttlesworth — who have three seasons of eligibility each.

Alabama is looking to the future with its tight ends room, and seemingly has stability for the years to come.

That starts with Kaleb Edwards, who was thrown into the fire as an Alabama freshman despite enrolling in the program during the summer.

Edwards was the only other tight end on the Alabama roster, along with Cuevas, to play more than 80 snaps in 2025, playing 369 across 15 games, per Pro Football Focus. As a true freshman, Edwards had 11 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.

Jamey Mosley is getting a crack at on-field coaching.

Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard announced the hiring of Jamey Mosley as the Cardinal’s defensive line coach, adding a former Alabama walk‑on turned national champion who spent the last five seasons on the Crimson Tide’s defensive staff.

Mosley, a Mobile, Ala., native, worked with Alabama’s defensive line as a graduate assistant and defensive analyst from 2021–25. He was part of multiple top‑20 defensive units, including the 2025 group that helped propel the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff while ranking 13th nationally in total defense and tied for 19th in tackles for loss.

Pritchard praised Mosley’s background and coaching trajectory. “Jamey Mosley embodies everything we want in a Stanford football coach — competitor, connector, and a championship mindset,” Pritchard said. “He’s a rising star in this profession, and I’m excited for our defensive linemen to develop under his leadership.”

Good for him.

Last, the NCAA is signaling that they may pursue sanctions against schools who played players under temporary injunctions.

A dozen athletes have been granted injunctions for extended eligibility in the last year and many of the cases continue onward, where the NCAA has a chance to win the case and then, in turn, penalize schools for playing those athletes.

As it turns out, the reigning football national champions are involved. In its march to the national title this year, Indiana used a player originally deemed ineligible by the NCAA but permitted to play through a court’s injunction: safety Louis Moore, who played in all 16 games and finished third on the team with 88 tackles. The case, filed in Texas, is continuing onward.

If the NCAA eventually wins, could the association vacate the Hoosiers’ national championship? That is highly unlikely. But the NCAA wants these cases to continue as a way to (1) afford it the option to, at the very least, fine a school for playing an ineligible player, (2) set judicial precedent for future cases and (3) create a chilling effect or deterrent for other school administrators contemplating using an ineligible player.

Like Charles Bediako, those players sued the NCAA for eligibility. The difference is that they were granted temporary injunction, so their teams continued to play them. The NCAA has appealed those injunctions, and the players’ representation has moved to dismiss those appeals as moot since the players involved are now out of eligibility. The NCAA is pursuing the appeal, however, in effort to see the injunctions overturned so that they may punish the institutions for playing ineligible players.

What a mess. Perhaps it’s better for Alabama that Bediako was denied.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.