Nick Saban talks NIL, 'different' CFB changes, whether it could lead to retirement

The landscape of college football may be changing, but Nick Saban still reigns supreme. Amidst sweeping change, the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach discussed everything from NIL to his eventual retirement.

“It’s different, there’s no doubt about that, and it’s going to change a lot of things,” Saban said, in an interview with Mark Schlabach of ESPN. “To me, you have to adapt to whatever the rules are. It’s challenging to adapt, but you just have to adapt. It doesn’t make me think that I don’t want to coach or that college football is bad. It’s just going to be different.”

Change isn’t new to Saban. Since he took over in Tuscaloosa in 2007, he’s seen college football change over and over again. Still, he’s kept on winning.

After winning three national championships under the BCS system, the sport adapted a new playoff model with the College Football Playoff. While it was debated whether or not Saban could adjust, he answered all doubts by winning three more championships.

Now, NIL presents a change on a whole different level for Saban’s career. Now, he’s having to educate his players using a whole new set of rules.

Nick Saban talks NIL

The Alabama Crimson Tide head coach may be adapting to the new landscape of college football like everyone else, but it still all boils down to the same thing for Saban. No matter what, it comes down to reaching your potential and becoming the best player you can. 

“The way I explain it to the player is, “Hey, you’ve always been able to work.” Just a few years ago, almost all players worked,” said Saban. “Some guys would do internships or whatever, but they didn’t feel like there was a need to work. I said this is basically another way you guys can make money by working.”

“You’re allowed to have representation for it, but at the same time probably what you’re going to make on name, image and likeness is peanuts compared to what you can make if you develop a career as a player. So you’ve got to prioritize and understand that there’s nothing different about this. 

“The more value you create for yourself, the more opportunities you’re going to get in name, image and likeness and the more opportunities you’re going to get relative to the next level. It still comes down to being the best player you can be. If you get distracted by that then you’re really kind of penalizing yourself.”

As always, Saban’s words ring true. While NIL is a tremendous development for college players, it still doesn’t match what they could potentially earn at the next level. 

‘We have a whole department that handles it.’

Per usual, Saban is looking out for his players when it comes to NIL as well. This season, Alabama even implemented an entire department to handle each deal.

“We have a whole department that handles it, and they have to get every deal looked at,” said Saban. “I told the guys that every deal is not a good deal, and you’ve got to make sure you want your name associated with whatever you do.”

Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide will always be associated with winning. As he has before, nobody should expect anything less than that throughout the changes in the sport of college football.

Image courtesy of Todd Kirkland / Getty Images