Nick Saban sounds off on NIL creating distractions with players
By David Wasson
Published:
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban has never been shy about expressing his opinion on the macro matters of college football, and the current ESPN College GameDay analyst was at it again Saturday talking about the changing landscape of the sport.
Saban, who won 6 national titles at Alabama over 17 seasons and another previously at LSU, abruptly retired from coaching the Crimson Tide in January 2024 – in part, he said, to the game evolving away from player development.
Through much of Saban’s rule in Tuscaloosa, players were not able to be compensated for their name, image and likeness the way they are now – an evolution that is increasingly decried for throwing off the balance of the sport.
“The money, and the people who give it, have had an impact. But I also think there is an unintended consequence of how it effects players,” Saban said live on the College GameDay set. “Players’ commitment to development and players’ commitment to team – all those things have been affected a little bit. I’m glad that the players make money, I’m not talking about that. But it’s how the players get the money that creates a lot of distractions.”
Saban went on to point out that players’ receiving large dollar-amount payouts for NIL becomes a psychological challenge from a developmental perspective as well as with coaches who are trying to motivate and balance team morale.
“It is much more challenging now than it was 5 years ago, or 3 years ago even when I was coaching,” Saban said. “That has an impact on consistency and performance, and that’s we’ve seen seeing more ups and downs this year – which also affects guys getting fired.”
Here’s the full clip with Saban:
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
