Colin Cowherd, Greg McElroy consider why Nick Saban comments on NIL issues

As NIL became a key part of the college athletics landscape, Nick Saban has been outspoken about some of the shortcomings. While he has made it clear he supports players being able to earn money, he has pointed out some areas the NCAA needs to improve in enforcing some of the rules.

However, Alabama still finds itself at the forefront of the discussion around the game, which is why Colin Cowherd and Greg McElroy discussed Saban’s comments on NIL issues.

During the latest edition of Always College Football, Cowherd pointed out how Saban will say what’s on his mind, which is understandable given his stature as the GOAT. But he also indicated there might be another reason for his remarks on NIL — and it traces back to former assistant Steve Sarkisian.

“I love Saban,” Cowherd said. “I think sometimes, he can be — if Nick wants to talk about something, he’s going go to the podium and he’s going to find something that can get him into what he really wants to talk about. He does this all the time. About three times a year, it’s like, ‘I’m going to talk about transfer portal. I don’t care what your question is. I’m gonna bring it up.’ And there have been two different occasions where he’s complained about the NIL. He said, it’s not even, it’s not fair. And my takeaway has always been, that’s a message.

“My gut feeling was he’s a little concerned about Texas. That the fact that Texas money is like USC, can’t compete with it. Phil Knight and Oregon can’t compete with it. The Longhorns have two to three billionaire donors. When Nick talks about the NIL, my takeaway is he’s doing some battles with Sark and some of these, they’re wrestling people away. I mean, they’re getting great recruits. That’s my take.”

Greg McElroy: Nick Saban’s spat with Jimbo Fisher was ‘a call to action’

Saban made waves last offseason for his shot at Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M, which hauled in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2022, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. He said the Aggies “bought every player on their team” during an event with boosters.

Some took it as Saban being upset Fisher beat him out in recruiting. But to McElroy, it was directed more toward the people in the room, who had plenty of influence on Alabama’s spot in the NIL space.

“I think it’s as much, Colin, to rally the troops of his own fan base,” McElroy said. “Everyone make a big deal about the argument between Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban back in the summer of ’22. It was never about Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban. It was never about Alabama against Texas A&M. What he was doing in what he thought was a controlled environment amongst friends and family, unknowing that there was televisions there and all this other stuff. He was basically saying, ‘Hey, look this, these guys? Look at the recruiting class they were just able to bring home. You guys better step it up.’

“That was a call to action for his own fan base I think more so than it was being frustrated with the current system. Are there as many billionaire donors in the state of Alabama as around the state of Texas? No. But I would be willing to probably go probably on the record in saying I’d be willing to bet that people that were %500-600 million are putting up a higher percentage of their net worth to make sure that Alabama succeeds than maybe in Texas or in California or other places. It just means a lot in this particular state. So I will be interested to see how that all unfolds and how the arms race really ends up working out.”