Report: Nick Saban reveals former starter asked for $500K, help getting girlfriend into law school

Nick Saban isn’t pulling his punches when speaking on the demands that college athletes are making regarding NIL deals.

Indisputably, the combination of both NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal have severely changed the recruiting game. Speaking at the 18th annual Alabama Football Coaches Association convention, Saban touched on many topics, including revealing that a former Alabama starter made some fascinating demands to remain with the Crimson Tide.

“He didn’t say any names, but yep, he did talk about a kid who wanted to get his girlfriend into law school at Alabama and pay for it,” ALFCA president Terry Curtis said, per Glenn Guilbeau of OutKick. “He was explaining that that tells you where this NIL and transfer portal are going. I thought he made an excellent point. It’s crazy what some kids are asking for.

“Coach Saban was talking about how frustrating it is to deal with NIL and the portal and how there needs to be some more ground rules.”

Alas, Guilbeau theorized that Javion Cohen — a former Alabama starting offensive lineman who took his talents to Miami via the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason — was the athlete Saban was speaking of.

“Saban did not name any of the players he lost. But Alabama did lose junior starting left guard Javion Cohen, who transferred last December to Miami, which does have a law school,” wrote Guilbeau. “Cohen, a four-star signee out of Phenix City, Alabama, in 2020, started regularly in 2021 and ’22 for the Crimson Tide.”

Guillbeau spoke to multiple people in attendance, including the organization president and a Mobile, Alabama-based football coach, Steve Normand, each confirming the topics Saban discussed at the private event.

“He did mention that,” Normand said, per OutKick. “I don’t know for sure if that ever happened, but is that where we’re going with the portal and the NIL?”

Additionally, Saban spoke regarding recruits Alabama passed on due to their immense wishes, although he didn’t name any names in the process.

“Someone with one of the best corners in the nation (in high school) came to me and asked if we’d pay them $800,000 for the player to sign here. I told him he can find another place to play,” Saban said, per Normand, via Guilbeau. “I’m not paying a kid a bunch of NIL money before he earns it.”

In response, Guilbeau wondered if perhaps Cormani McClain — a star defensive back recruit who committed to Miami before later joining Coach Deion Sanders at Colorado — was the one Saban alluded to.

Make no bones about it, NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal have changed the game. College football isn’t the same, and Nick Saban recognizes that. Whether that’s regulated in the future remains to be seen, but it’s the wild world we’re living in at the moment.