Alabama basketball was in on the nation's No. 1 basketball recruit, AJ Dybantsa, but not for the BYU signee's reported $7 million NIL price tag.
CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported that Dybantsa's final schools, including BYU, North Carolina and Alabama were "all able to meet the asking price" of what was said to be "approximately $5 million," attributing the information to "sources at schools on Dybantsa's list of finalists."
Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne told The Tuscaloosa News on Monday that the report was "inaccurate."
"We have been competitive in the men's basketball space from an NIL standpoint," Byrne said. However, there was no $5 million offer to Dybantsa. Not from UA, at least.
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Norlander wrote that Dybantsa's business adviser Leonard Armato told him the NIL deal, "considered the largest for any college basketball player ever," would be paid out "directly" from BYU's collective.
New York Times basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported last Tuesday that the 6-foot-9 small forward's BYU deal was valued at upwards of $7 million in NIL money. He added in a Forbes report last Friday that Dybantsa is also due to receive a $5 million base with more cash to come from deals with Nike and Red Bull.
NIL is part of the recruiting landscape.
"It's another important piece of the puzzle, and it's something that you have to evolve with," Byrne said. "We have, and we will continue to."
Alabama's 2025 recruiting class currently includes three four-star signings in guard Davion Hannah, as well as forwards Amari Allen and London Jemison.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama AD on alleged $5M NIL offer to basketball recruit AJ Dybantsa
