Alabama has been a master at paying $5 to $50,000 for key players under the table for 50 years. However, competing against Georgia, Miami,Texas, and Texas A&M for cash/players is no comparison. Alabama is not one of the rich guys.
Why do you think Sabin retired? He saw the writing on the wall. A salary cap with a third party approval process for nil contracts will level the playing field for everyone. You still can't stop cheating, but what safeguards will the new ruling entity put in? Who knows?