In A Desperate Attempt To Regain Their College Football Crown Alabama Is Building An NIL Center That Looks Like A Scene Out Of A Sci-Fi Movie From The 90s

SI.com - As part of a new 15-year agreement with Alabama that it announced Tuesday, Learfield, in conjunction with the university, is creating a dedicated hub for name, image and likeness (NIL) called The Advantage Center, an epicenter for Crimson Tide athletes’ NIL endeavors that the company believes is a first nationally. The Advantage Center, with a goal of opening this calendar year, will be located inside Bryant Denny Stadium and will double as the agency’s local office, says Learfield CEO Cole Gahagan.

Learfield and Alabama plan to collaborate on the development of the center to provide both a physical home and a staff to educate athletes on NIL opportunities and showcase successful local and national NIL-related relationships.

I don't think there is much debate that after back-to-back titles Georgia is now the king of the college football landscape. This is not a place Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are used to being. But this is the world we live in now that NIL deals and the transfer portal have spread the talent around. Saban showing up at a kid's house for dinner and angrily mumbling at their parents for an hour just doesn't cut it any more.

Kids want flash. Kids want style. Kids want money. So that's what Alabama is going to give them...kind of.

In renderings provided to Sports Illustrated, the Advantage Center is expected to include a host of NIL-related features: a digital ticker announcing the latest news in athlete deals; a studio with a green screen to provide athletes a place to shoot NIL-related videos; a wall dedicated to Alabama player NIL deals and opportunities; and meeting space to possibly help facilitate brand-and-athlete relationships.

Nothing says "I've never made a TikTok in my life" like bragging about a room with a green screen and digital ticker. What is this the New York stock exchange in 2004?

The idea behind the building is certainly interesting but the renderings look like what someone thought the future would look like in 1997. Those red fiberglass looking walls resemble those janky 3D glasses you used to get out of the cereal box as a kid. You know the ones that were in no way 3D and all they did was make those stupid magic eye puzzles a little easier. 

Those things sucked by the way. There's no talent to it. You just make yourself go crosseyed. And then there is no real reward once you do see it. Hey look it's a schooner!

And what's up with those red velvet egg chairs? The only place I have ever seen those was in the apartment of the guy I bought weed from in college. It's pretty clear that some old who was absolutely sure he knew what kids would think is cool designed these.

I have to imagine this will look completely different once it is finished. After all Alabama's facility is one of the best in the nation and huge part of their recruiting pitch. You can't have kids walking from a sick ass facility you just spent $600 Million renovating over to the NIL hub that looks like a Verizon store.