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Nick Saban voices concern with using NIL to ‘buy players,’ shares alternative model
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Nick Saban can be counted among the many college coaches who see issues with the current NIL landscape in college football.
“I don’t think what we’re doing right now is a sustainable model,” Saban recently told The Associated Press.
Saban told the AP that he supports players making money, but worries about how NIL is affecting recruiting.
“(NIL) creates a situation where you can basically buy players,” Saban added. “You can do it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s what we want college football to be, I don’t know. And you can also get players to get in the transfer portal to see if they can get more someplace else than they can get at your place.”
Considering how much Saban hates to lose in all things, including recruiting, the Alabama coach’s “if that’s what we want” comment could be interpreted as a warning to the rest of the college football world.
The last time Nick Saban asked “if that’s what we want college football to be,” it was a warning, not a complaint. He ditched MurderBall, adopted a hurry-up offense and won 3 national titles in 6 years.
You wanna drive up the price in an NIL War? Aight. pic.twitter.com/HsoNrjT3Uc
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) April 13, 2022
Alabama’s about to discover oil beneath Bryant-Denny, don’t ask how, it’s just gonna happen https://t.co/qOasBa5H2q
— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) April 13, 2022
Saban described the current landscape as NFL-like, but missing contracts and a salary cap. He added that if it were up to him, all Alabama football players would be compensated by the program, with everyone receiving the same set amount.
“We give everybody the same medical care, academic support, food service. Same scholarship. So if we’re going to do this, then everybody is going to benefit equally. I’m not going to create a caste system on our team,” Saban said.
More from Saban and some of his Power 5 peers can be found in Ralph D. Russo’s article here.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
