Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne says it’s time for Crimson Tide fans to “fight back” in the NIL wars facing college football.

Byrne sent out a passionate email to Alabama fans on Thursday in the middle of the December transfer portal window.

Here is the most notable section from that email.

“Although we have been competitive from an NIL standpoint, our competition has us in their sights and are actively trying to surge ahead with NIL,” Byrne wrote. “You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back.”

Alabama has seen more than a dozen players enter the transfer portal since it opened Dec. 9. Meanwhile, cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe announced intentions to enter, and tight end Danny Lewis entered it. Both have since made the decision to stay at Alabama.

Player movement happens every year with natural roster attrition in the transfer portal era. It became more prevalent going back to 2021 when college athletes had the opportunity to profit off their name, image and likeness. Much of that has since turned into pay for play.

Here’s the full letter from Byrne.

“Alabama fans,

Over the past few years, there have been drastic changes in college athletics. We have been careful during this transitional period to protect our position at the top of college athletics while being mindful to listen, engage and learn from our generous supporters, proud alumni and unrivaled fans to make sure that we protect our great traditions here at Alabama. But there’s a time for talk and a time for action. Now is a time for action.

Although we have been competitive from an NIL standpoint, our competition has us in their sights and are actively trying to surge ahead with NIL. You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back. Under the new model of college athletics, which is the result of an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, a university can succeed if their fans purchase authentic NIL from student-athletes.

The good news is when Yea Alabama was created last year, the focus was on providing our fans with a legitimate product rather than booster inducements. Yea Alabama delivers exclusive content and access you cannot get anywhere else. We also have a plan to grow Yea Alabama’s offerings with more videos, features and news in 2025. So, please click the link to subscribe to Yea Alabama! A subscription to Yea Alabama isn’t about the now; it’s about the future. It’s about roster retention for future seasons – keeping our legends in Crimson. It’s about attracting and developing the best recruits in the country to represent the script A. You being a part of the team has never been more important. At Alabama, we’ve not measured ourselves against our competition. We are the standard, and that measurement is against the mirror and against a rich and proud history, but it’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in college athletics. Hungry fan bases are acting decisively to give their respective programs competitive advantages. We must respond. We are Alabama. Join Yea Alabama today!

Greg Byrne

Director of Athletics”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.