Floyd Mayweather Profits Off Alabama Football Meltdown

Floyd Mayweather used to be a legend in the boxing ring. Now, with his professional career behind him, his sports betting habits are taking center stage. And his latest victory, as it turns out, comes at the expense of Alabama football.

For those who may not already know, the Alabama Crimson Tide entered as 13.5-point favorites to open their 2025 college football season against the Florida State Seminoles. By the end of the game, Roll Tide had, quite frankly, rolled over. They fell to the Seminoles by two touchdowns, losing 31-17.

This loss marks one of the biggest upsets for betting on college football in opening-week history. It is also being treated as an inflection point for the Crimson Tide’s entire program.

For Floyd Mayweather, though, this has proven to be just another opportunity at cashing in.

The 48-year-old posted a photo of two bet slips on Instagram following the game. “I bet Alabama $30,000 first half and lost,” the caption reads. “I bet Florida State $90,000 second half and won.”

Mayweather’s caption is accompanied by a side-by-side photo of his bet slips. The first one shows a $30,000 wager on Alabama football to cover in the first half. This wager wound up bombing. The second slip, though, shows an investment of $90,000 on Florida State covering a +6.5-point spread. This dice roll panned out. Mayweather won a total of $180,000 on this final bet. After factoring in his $30,000 loss in the first half, this comes out to a $60,000 profit.

Alabama Football Fans Are NOT Happy

Though Mayweather is all smiles following his victory, Alabama football fans cannot say the same. The Crimson Tide entered Week 1 as the eighth-ranked team in college football. Many no longer believe they belong in the top 25.

Paul Finebaum of ESPN even goes as far as putting Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer on the hot seat. Here is what he has to say, via The Spun:

“It was a shattering loss for Kalen DeBoer. He had built up tremendous goodwill in the offseason. People believed in him after failing to believe in him at the end of last season. But there is no escaping it. You started hearing words last night like ‘hot seat,’ ‘buyout,’ which by the way is $70 million. It was ‘get to the playoffs or bust,’ and right now, he lost a golden opportunity because he has about seven or eight tougher games than he had yesterday. His path is very narrow and his hot seat is very scorching.”

In many cases, this qualifies as an overreaction to one game. This situation is an exception. Alabama football is the gold standard for NCAAF. Last year, which was DeBoer’s first at the helm, saw them win fewer than 10 games for the first time since 2007. Mediocrity isn’t just a non-starter for Alabama football. It is not even supposed to be in the program’s vocabulary.

Alabama’s NCAAF Championship Odds Are Already Plummeting.

Although sports betting in Alabama is not yet legal, the Crimson Tide remain among the most popular college football betting options across the country. It is possible that changes now.

Alabama football initially opened the season at around +1000 to +1200 to win the College Football National Championship, depending on your sportsbook of choice. Losing to the Seminoles has resulted in those odds imploding.

At present, you will be hard-pressed to find any operator of online sports betting in the United States that has Alabama laying shorter than +1500 to +1700 odds. Make no mistake, this is a bigger drop-off following one game.

Yet, it may understate the gravity of Alabama football’s situation. They still have matchups with the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (Saturday, September 27), No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks (Saturday, October 25) and No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners (Saturday, November 25) left on their docket. Just as Finebaum says, the Week 1 matchup with the Seminoles looms as the easiest of this gaggle. Alabama has already lost it.

Floyd Mayweather’s Midgame Flip May be Just the Beginning

Sure, Floyd Mayweather’s bet slips for Alabama football may be a funny (or painful) anecdote. But his decision to fade the Crimson Tide might be the harbinger of a larger trend. The specific question that applies here is simple: Are people out on the Alabama football experience?

It is perhaps much too early to provide an answer. Plus, Alabama football may be able to restore some faith with its upcoming matchup against UL Monroe. The Crimson Tide are also getting some help from the initially top-ranked Texas Longhorns. Arch Manning and company fell to Ohio State in a game they were favored to win until the past few weeks.

Still, Alabama football now faces an incredibly thin margin for error. They cannot afford letdown performances in matchups versus teams like Wisconsin (September 13), Vanderbilt (October 4) or Missouri (October 11). In fact, if Alabama plans to make the college football playoff, it may need to win out from here.

Most will argue this isn’t doable. Not after Week 1. They might be right. But this is why we play the games. Alabama football’s season isn’t over yet. The same goes for their playoff hopes. They may be damaged. They’re not irreparable.

Which isn’t to say Alabama deserves the benefit of the doubt. It might not. At the same time, there is a chance that Floyd Mayweather’s Alabama football flip-flop winds up going down as the lowpoint of the Crimson Tide’s season.

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