Eli Gold, in hindsight, revealed he had some idea something was up in regard to his status with Crimson Tide Sports Network.

Less than a year later, he is no longer apart of the University of Alabama football radio broadcasts.

The 70-year-old play-by-play man joined me on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 the morning after news broke he would no longer serve as the “Voice of the Crimson Tide.” He call the news sad.

“It was not an amicable ending to this relationship,” he said.

His gut was telling him something just months ago.

“Last year when I came back from the cancer and my schedule was cut in half, I was healthy and ready to work, but they didn’t let me travel,” Gold, who revealed he has signed a contract with a professional football franchise to be revealed Friday, told me Thursday morning. “I just had an idea something was up.”

As it turns out, it was a week ago today, he was on a Zoom call when he was told his contract would not be renewed.

“I proposed doing another full season and calling it quits at that point,” he revealed. “They weren’t interested in that. They wanted to make a change now. There were things I wanted to say that they didn’t really want to have out in public.”

Those things, he said, weren’t venomous things or some dark secrets.

“The first press release said I was retiring,” he said of the revisions of the official statement released. “Well, I wasn’t retiring. They were kind enough to change that. Then, it said, ‘Eli is stepping down.’ Well, Eli was not stepping down. None of this was my choosing, so we just hit an impasse there.

“The press release was nothing like the one that was written. I thanked the fans and all of this. They just did away with that. They chose for me not to do the A-Day game.”

Initially, Gold said he was offered the chance to the A-Day Game, the Tide’s annual spring game, where they would have honored him for his 36 years of service. He also said he was offered football season tickets and a parking pass. That’s when he countered with doing a final full season.

Gold is a member of Tide Pride. He has tickets.

“I don’t know if my schedule will allow it, but if it does and it’s a game I want to see, I might attend,” he said. “I’m not going to stop being an Alabama fan.”

In the aftermath of the decision, Gold said former Alabama coach Nick Saban reached out to him.

“I did not hear from Greg Byrne,” he said when asked about the Alabama AD. “I don’t think I would. We had our meeting. He told me what was happening and that was that.

“I did hear from coach Saban yesterday. We missed each other a couple of times on the phone. He left a wonderful, lengthy voicemail. He was very quick to call, and I appreciated it very, very much.”

Gold is trying to move on. Still, his love for the University of Alabama is evident in the way he talks about his accomplishments over the years. It is never about him, but the fans and the team.

“When fans who aren’t even born yet go to the Bryant Museum to learn about the history of Alabama, my soundtrack will be a part of that,” he said. “That can’t be taken away from me. I’m honored, and the way the fans have treated me and welcomed me into their homes over these years has been so special. That will never be taken away from me.”

Listen to the full interview at WNSP.com.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.