Nick Saban explains how ‘it kind of looks like’ college football is heading toward NFL model
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The landscape of major college football is changing before our eyes, with the latest major story featuring Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC (eventually).
Prior to that, NIL laws went into effect. Now, college athletes are able to make money off their names, images and likenesses.
So, with the change in power and money structure, is college football heading toward an NFL model? In an interview with Mark Schlabach of ESPN, Alabama coach Nick Saban explained why it feels that way:
But are we headed to an NFL model in college football with all of these changes?
It kind of looks like it. College football is for guys to get an education, and the more we pay players, the less sports we’re going to have. If we start paying players, instead of having 21 sports, we’re going to have nine. There will be no something — golf team, track team, something. Then you’re eliminating opportunities for people in non-revenue sports.
Where everybody misses the boat a little bit is that college athletics is not a business. People who think it’s a business, I think they have the wrong perception. It’s revenue producing, but nobody takes the profit. When Wayne Huizenga owned the Dolphins, he paid $500 million for the team, he made $50 million a year, and he sold it for $950 million. That’s business. Well, in college, all you do is reinvest all of the money into all of the other sports, facilities and scholarships. There’s more than 300 people having an opportunity, and not just 85 football players.
Then the argument is, “Well, the coaches make a lot of money.” But do we create value or not? Alabama is making more money than they ever made before I came here, whether they pay me more or not.
Will Saban’s theory be proven right? No one will know the impact of the NIL laws for a few years yet, it seems.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
