Nick Saban Says NIL Should be 'Equal Across the Board'

Alabama football legend wants equal playing field in NIL
Nick Saban Says NIL Should be 'Equal Across the Board'
Nick Saban Says NIL Should be 'Equal Across the Board' /
In this story:

Former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban has been vocal about NIL throughout the past month. Most of his comments about it have been negative as he believes what college football is now, isn't college football.

The NIL landscape has changed the game and with no end in the near future, Saban and every other former coach who doesn't like it should get used to it. Players are getting compensated for the work they put in and it's a fair system.

Saban has said that he's all for student-athletes making money, but he has issues with the way it's playing out. Athletes asking for more money, recruiting solely being focused on money, and every other way NIL has impacted college sports in a negative way.

While the legendary head coach has a point in some of his comments, the NCAA doesn't look to have a change.

Saban spoke about the issues in a courtroom earlier this week, doubling down on the points he's made in the past.

He urged Congress to make NIL equal across the board, saying the following, according to Ryan Morik of Fox News.

“You go to college to create value for your future, and I want the quality of life for student-athletes to be the best it can be. And I think they should have a seat at the table. And I think they should share some of the revenue. 

"But I think it needs to be equal across the board so that a school that can afford more can’t create an advantage for themselves just because they have more money to spend. But I’m all for student-athletes. I want student-athletes to have the best quality of life.”

Being equal across the board would be an interesting concept. Perhaps the NCAA could figure something like that out, but it'd likely have to be done in a strange way.

One way that could make sense is to make it equal in each conference. For example, each school in the SEC would have a certain amount of money, each school would have the same in the Big Ten, and further.


Published
Jon Conahan
JON CONAHAN

Jon Conahan has been covering all major sports since 2019. He is a 2022 graduate of the Bellisario School of Journalism at Penn State University and previously played D1 baseball.