Nick Saban: Alabama will establish fair, equal locker room for players with NIL

Amid allegations of transfer portal tampering and misuse of recruiting resources, the state of college football has become a hot topic for coaches across the country this offseason. Alabama head coach Nick Saban has joined the conversation over recent months, calling for change in the way NIL deals are executed.

During an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, Nick Saban dove deeper into the NIL discussion which he started by expressing concern over the future of college football.

“I think the reason I made that statement was if we’re going to promise players that we’re going to create Name Image and Likeness, it’s going to create problems in the locker room unless everybody gets the same thing – which is the model we’re going to have.” said Saban. “As coaches, the way I feel about it is we’re there to create a platform for our players to be successful and you create value for their future. Whether you develop a career off the field or whether they have a chance to go to the NFL someday and have a great career there.

“That’s what we want to stay focused on, not how much money a guy’s going to make while he’s going to college. And I think that’s the part that we’ve all got to get our heads together on and say what’s best for the game.”

Nick Saban on NIL legislation

Paul Finebaum followed up by asking Nick Saban whether his vision would be enough for everyone, or whether some players might want more from their college careers and opt to leave. He responded with his thoughts on that potential.

“There will be some people that it won’t be,” said Saban. “But I would rather get the guys in our program that that’s what they’re interested in. They have goals and aspirations for what they want to do. Look, when you go to college, college is a destination where you’re trying to prepare yourself for the day you can’t play football. So that’s the number one purpose. If you can develop a career on the field while you’re doing that, that’s great. That’s what we’d love for players to be able to do.

“So we want to stay focused on that, and we want the quality of life for our players to be equal. And we’re going to make it that way in terms of what we do so it’s fair for everybody. And every player can go earn whatever they can earn, because that’s what Name, Image and Likeness was supposed to be all about.”