Sources lay out that Alabama WR Ryan Williams has a much higher price tag than actual on-field impact for the Crimson Tide
Alabama star wide receiver is being paid like a college football elite, but is he playing like it?
Alabama sophomore Ryan Williams took the country by storm early in the 2024 college football season, quickly showing the talent that once made him a five-star recruit. That was highlighted most by his heroic performance against the Georgia Bulldogs, seemingly setting the stage for him to be in the conversation as the nation’s elite.
Since that 6-catch, 177-yard performance against Georgia last season, Williams has now gone ten straight games without eclipsing the 100-yard mark. In those ten contests, the 6-0, 175-pound pass catcher has been held below five catches on eight occasions. Williams has also failed to go over 50 yards during six games as well. The hype has far exceeded the production since early on last fall.
In a recent article from On3 transfer portal reporter Pete Nakos, he laid out the highest-paid wide receivers in college football in 2025. It should have been no surprise that Ohio State All-American Jeremiah Smith was at the top of the list. The sophomore phenom is expected to make somewhere between $4 and $5 million this season.
Second on the list was Williams, and Nakos wrote that sources have confirmed that the Alabama native is making north of 1.8 million. That is obviously a hefty number for the slump Williams has been in recently. Here is what Nakos wrote about Williams.
“The other true freshman standout of the 2024 season, Ryan Williams, finished his breakout season at Alabama with 48 catches for 865 yards. He starred on the EA Sports College Football 26 cover with Smith this summer. Williams told On3 in an interview that Smith “had the better season last year … this time around, I hope I can flex.” Sources have told On3 that Williams is making north of $1.8 million this season.”
It’s time to produce
Things haven’t exactly been perfect around Williams since he arrived in Tuscaloosa. Head coach Kalen DeBoer came in, and there have been some struggles in terms of culture and consistency. The quarterback position also hasn’t been great either, going from Jalen Milroe to Ty Simpson this season. Some struggles are understandable, to a degree at least.
At the end of the day, however, Williams is getting paid a lot of money to be the top playmaker for this Crimson Tide team. Outside of Smith, Williams is making more money than any wideout in college football, and he should be producing like it. Whenever he returns from injury, a lot is going to be expected of the talented playmaker.
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