Nick Saban makes incredible claim about Alabama players in NFL

Nick Saban spoke on Tuesday about an eye-popping stat regarding Alabama players from his program that have gone on to the NFL level. According to Saban, players from Alabama have made $1.7 billion in the NFL since 2007 — a staggering number that speaks to the powerhouse Alabama football is.

Nick Saban on Alabama players in the NFL

Saban spoke with media present at a fundraiser for Team Focus on Tuesday, a youth mentoring organization founded by broadcaster and former college football coach Mike Gottfried. While answering questions about his process as a coach and how he develops players, Saban took a chance to flex on the entire NCAA football world with his players’ success.

“Somebody gave me a stat that our players have made $1.7 billion playing in the NFL since 2007,” Saban said, via AL.com. “And all those guys didn’t play when they were freshmen. They didn’t all play when they were sophomores. They didn’t even all play when they were juniors, but they all developed.”

While NIL rules have certainly made an impact on college football in a quick way, Saban’s overall point regarding the NFL appears to be more targeted towards transfers. The NCAA Transfer Portal has allowed players much more freedome regarding their collegiate careers, but the trade-off in some people’s opinion is a lack of “loyalty” to their school if playing time doesn’t come their way.

As Saban explains, his program is about development and success — and sometimes the path to that success comes by riding the bench until it’s your turn. While this philosophy isn’t for everyone, Saban’s $1.7 billion mark of success is certainly a recruiting tool he will continue to use.

Saban on NIL collectives

Saban also took the chance to continue his criticisms of the current NIL rules and how they’re affecting college football recruiting. According to the Crimson Tide’s coach, schools using NIL “collectives” to recruit players are not in the spirit of the rule — but maintains that Alabama out-performs these collectives anyways.

“It really hasn’t changed at all,” said Saban of his NIL opinion. “I said in the very beginning that the concept of Name, Image and Likeness — for players to go out and get representation and be able to work and make money using their Name, Image and Likeness is a good thing for the players. And I think that was the original intent. Now people have started these collectives that raise money to create opportunities for players. I think that’s an unintended consequence.

“We didn’t do that last year and our guys made more money than anybody in college football.”