When Alabama football coach Nick Saban speaks, people listen.
It’s one thing to allow college players to earn money though name, image and likeness. It’s quite another, in Saban’s mind, to use it as a financial inducement in recruiting.
With that in mind, Saban accused SEC rival Texas A & M of buying every player on its No. 1 recruiting class.
I mean we were second in recruiting last year A & M was first. A & M bought every player on their team– made a deal for name, image likeness we didn’t buy one player, all right? But I don’t know if we’re going to be to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it.”
Alabama players made $3 million “doing it the right way,” Saban claimed. Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young had $800,000 in deals on the table before he never took a snap. But the Tide technically played within the rules. But Saban said only 25 of his players were able leverage NIL opportunities.
Still there is no denying the SEC is involved in an armed race that could change the dynamics of the sport.
Texas A & M’s recruiting class set off alarm bells throughout the conference when Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin suggesting the Aggies were “going to incur a luxury tax in how much they paid for their recruiting class.”
As expected, A & M coach Jimbo Fisher, a former Saban assistant, fired back claiming coaches spreading those rumors were “clown acts” and “irresponsible as hell.”
But he saved most of his venom for Saban.
“It’s despicable that a reputation head coach can come out and say this when he doesn’t get his name,” Fisher said, without mentioning Saban by name. “The narcissist in him doesn’t allow for those things to happen. It’s ridiculous when he’s not on top.’
Wait. There was more.
“Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said. “Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out . . . A lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of college football. Go dig into his past, or anybody who has ever coached with him. You can find out anything you want to find out, what he does and how he does it. It’s despicable.”
deals to athletes– and how much they can promise every player.
The NIL is out of control and is spawning coaching feuds and locker room tensions.
But it may be too late to put this genie back in the bottle unless there is federal legislation.
Coaches, who are looking for an advantage, know how much money is available for their school’s collectives– a group of program supporters who pool resources to Fisher wasn’t the only coach Saban singled out. He also took aim at Deion Sanders of Jackson State, saying his school paid Travis Hunter, a five- star player who committed to Florida State then flipped to the HBCU school, $1 million dollars to join the program.
“I don’t make a million dollars,” Sanders said. “Travis ain’t built like that. Travis ain’t chasing a dollar. He’s chasing greatness.”
Saban back tracked later Wednesday, saying he reached out to Fisher and Sanders wanting to apologize for mentioning specific schools and for any suggestion they were cheating to get players. But Fisher said, when Saban called, he didn’t answer. “Not going to,” he told ESPN. “he’s the greatest ever huh? When you got the advantages, it’s easy. I learned how to do things when I was with Bobby Bowden (of Florida State). There’s a reason i ain’t getting back with Saban. Don’t want to be associated with him.”
