By Sam Khan Jr., Kennington Smith III and Antonio Morales
Alabama and Courtney Morgan, the general manager of the school’s football program, have agreed to a new three-year deal that will pay him roughly $825,000 per year, a source briefed on the deal confirmed Monday. The contract, pending approval from Alabama’s board of trustees on Tuesday, is expected to reset the market for college football GMs.
The expected deal also comes after USC made an aggressive push to bring on Morgan to streamline the program’s recruiting operations, according to two people briefed on the pursuit.
Since joining Alabama in January, Morgan has been a pivotal part of the Crimson Tide’s No. 2 nationally ranked 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite. Morgan is credited with identifying talent and building strong relationships with players during the recruiting process and once players are in the program.
Morgan, who traveled on Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s plane when DeBoer first arrived in Tuscaloosa, also served in a key off-field role as the director of player personnel at Michigan (2021) and Washington (2022-23). In that position, Morgan worked in several capacities including roster management, scouting and recruiting, among other football operations responsibilities. His relationship with DeBoer dates further than Washington: He served in the same role at Fresno State in 2020, DeBoer’s first year as an FBS head coach.
GO DEEPER
Meet Courtney Morgan, the man who helped build both national title finalists
In his time at Washington and Michigan, as well as during his prior stops at UCLA and Fresno State, Morgan displayed his strong ties to the West Coast, which are paying off now for the Crimson Tide. Alabama holds five commitments from blue-chip California prospects in its 2025 recruiting class. Those connections were valued by USC, which has lost ground recruiting its home territory in Southern California in recent years. Morgan and USC athletic director Jen Cohen overlapped for almost two years at Washington.
Alabama has six total commits from California, the sixth being No. 2 kicker Alex Asparuhov. That total is more than Alabama’s last five classes combined (five).
The role of general manager is becoming increasingly prioritized in college football. The advent of the transfer portal, the elimination of penalties for multiple transfers and the introduction of name, image and likeness deals have turned player movement and roster management into a year-round endeavor.
Most FBS programs have a GM or director of player personnel running a scouting department, not only to evaluate high school recruits but also to scout other college players who enter the portal.
In its infancy, it was not a high-salary position, but the top GMs in the country have recently signed contracts well into the six-figure range. Before Morgan reset the market with his new deal, Texas Tech GM James Blanchard recently signed a two-year deal with an average salary of $400,000. Clemson GM Jordan Sorrells and Ohio State GM Mark Pantoni make more than $300,000, though these salaries are the exception, not the norm in the personnel and recruiting industry.
Required reading
(Photo: Courtesy of Courtney Morgan)
