Quarterback Ty Simpson found it important to retire his collegiate football career in his Alabama Crimson Tide jersey.
The transfer portal and NIL have completely transformed college football, not exactly for the better, and it’s hard to really connect any school pride to former players who were only at a program for a pitstop. While it’s become a trend for quarterbacks to transfer and get a big NIL pay day ahead of entering the NFL draft, former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson found it really important to take his next step in the pro league rather than another Power Four program, feeling that transferring would have “tarnish[ed] my legacy.”
There was certainly interest from other programs, with sources telling ESPN that Miami, Oregon and Tennessee were schools to watch if Simpson entered the portal. However, he decided to declare from the NFL draft on Jan. 7 and is now considered the No. 2 quarterback in the draft once Ducks quarterback Dante Moore elected to return to college. Simpson felt it important that, when he hopes to hear his name called, that he’ll feel “great pride” when they call it out with the University of Alabama on his card.
Here is the full story from Bama Roundtable writer Hannah Stephens on Simpson’s decision to preserve his legacy with the Crimson Tide.
Simpson completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns to five interceptions in 2025. He led the No. 9 Crimson Tide to an 11-4 campaign that culminated in a quarterfinal appearance in the College Football Playoff, where they lost to eventual national champions Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.