Travis Hunter responds to Nick Saban's comments about Jackson State and NIL
Alabama head coach Nick Saban unleashed a storm on Wednesday evening after he made comments about Name, Image, and Likeness while speaking at an event in the state. Saban publicly asserted that programs such as Texas A&M, Jackson State, and Miami were circumventing the NIL rules.
In the aftermath, Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher shot back at Saban's claims.
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In his comments on JSU, Saban mentioned the Tigers paying a "really good" player to come to their school. Obviously, that's a reference to the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 class, Travis Hunter, who flipped from Florida State to Jackson State on Early Signing Day.
“We have a rule right now that said you cannot use name, image and likeness to entice a player to come to your school. Hell, read about it in the paper!” Saban said. “I mean, Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division I player to come to school. It was in the paper and they bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it.”
Shortly after Hunter signed with the Tigers, rumors surfaced that he had accepted a $1 million-plus deal with Penn Gaming. Hunter and Sanders have both shot those reports down, with the latter appearing on ESPN to deny the claims.
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While Saban didn't directly mention the former top prospect by name, it wasn't much of a secret who he was talking about. Whether a good idea or not, Hunter responded to the accusations on social media on Thursday morning.
"I got a mil? But my mom still stay in a 3 bedroom house with five kids."
Shortly after Hunter's tweet, Sanders chimed in with a comment on his own.
"I don't even make a million!"
Sanders is expected to further address Saban's comments at some point this week. He said on Wednesday night he would comment on Thursday, stating that Jackson State doesn't have to pay players to land talent. It also appears that Sanders wants to clarify that the program isn't even compensating him $1 million to coach. According to the Clarion-Ledger, he signed a four-year/$1.2 million total deal in 2020.
If anything, the summer just got a little more interesting. It seems like this tussle isn't over just yet.
Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the summer.
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