Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch
The sport of college football is in a pretty weird spot these days. Nobody seems to know the rules surrounding NIL. Nobody seems to understand how the transfer portal works, and if you just spend a whole ton of money to construct a roster, you’re going to have a good shot to win a championship.
That doesn’t sit quite right with legendary head coach Nick Saban.
“All I’m saying? The people out there need to know this model is unsustainable,” Saban said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show ahead of Monday’s national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. “It’s not good for players.”
“Players need to get compensated, no doubt. But it has to be done in a way where, you know, in some kind of way, have competitive balance, you know, and that every school has the same thing,” he continue. “One school can’t spend $30 million for players while another schools spending $3 million.”
Now, Saban isn’t necessarily wrong. Let’s get that out of the way. This model is not sustainable will eventually lead to the reduction of sport and reduction of opportunities for players on the whole.
But herein lies the problem. This isn’t all that new. There has been a massive discrepancy in financial might in college football for decades now. And you know who may have benefited from that discrepancy as much as anybody? You guessed it, Nick Saban.
When Saban was at Alabama, the Tide had the best facilities, they paid assistants the most money, they had the largest staff and they offered players a lifestyle that other programs just could not match (all legally, of course). This isn’t exactly inside information either, and fans were quick to call Saban on it.
He means he wants it back like it was, where Alabama could pay whatever it took and no one else could.
— Brewer (@realwickedbrew) January 20, 2025
Coming from the guy that outspent everyone prior to it being legal huh 😂
— 818calicane (@818CALICANE) January 20, 2025
College football has always been unequal.
The haves vs the have nots
It’s just changing who those schools are
— 𝔻𝕦𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝔻𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕠𝕟 (@dutchdalton992) January 21, 2025
So yes, Saban is right about sustainability. But he is an exceedingly flawed messenger. And it’s heavily ironic that he had no issue with financial imbalances when he and his SEC cohorts were running the show in college football.