Correct. There are only 25 to 30 5 stars in each class.
Alabama has created a monster and can get just about any player they want. They coach and develop better than any other program, and because of that they get the pick of the litter every year. They shouldn’t be punished for being better than everyone else. We sure as hell would not have suggested any rule changes to break up the Nebraska dynasty of the 90s. Eventually Saban will retire or die and maybe they drop off a bit. Maybe.
If we want to increase the competition for the elite programs the best way to do that under the current model is to expand the playoffs so we don’t just see the same 4 to 6 programs playing for the CFB Championship every year. Expand that opportunity and visibility to some other programs and you’ll see the playing field level a bit. Expand to 8 teams at a minimum. 12 to 16 would be even better if you really want to elevate more programs and produce a better product.
I agree with playoff expansion, too. But the reality is similar to how the Yankees won so much for so many years. They would outbid everybody else and snatch the best players on other teams. They had the deepest pockets. Players went to the Yankees because 1) they would get a healthy salary, but mainly because 2) they knew they would be playing for the ultimate goal - a World Series title. As a result of the abundance of talent, you could count on the Yankees to always be in the running for the World Series. The salary cap was put in place to deal with this.
The same applies to Bama. The best players want to go to Bama because 1) they want to be part of a winning program, but mainly because 2) they see it is as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal of playing in the NFL. As a result of the abundance of talent, you can count on Bama to always be in the running for the national title. The scholarship limit was put in place to deal with this prior to Bama's run, which makes Bama's run more impressive. But Bama is simply filling its roster with the best talent because those kids see it as a ticket to the NFL. Within the 85 scholarship limit, Bama has proven that a team can still dominate and continue to monopolize talent. Bama isn't doing anything wrong, but there is nothing in the system to prevent a team from monopolizing the best talent. The 85 scholarship limit was supposed to fix that, but it obviously wasn't enough.
Besides limiting how many 5 star players can sign with a team in any one year, other options to level the playing field include limiting how many 5 star players can sign with a team in the next year, based on how a team finishes the prior year. This would be very similar to the NFL draft in that the teams that did well the prior year have to pick last, as it better assures balance in the league. A final idea is to reduce scholarships further, maybe to 80.
These are all just ideas to consider, but something definitely needs to be done to make college football more competitive. The top three or four teams will continue to serve as farm teams for the NFL and will continue to dominate college football until something big changes. Waiting for other teams to catch up is not a good strategy and time has shown it hasn't worked. The same teams have dominated for quite a awhile and will continue to do so.