Nick Saban may be done coaching, but he’s not done fighting for the future of college football.
Fresh off his retirement, the legendary Alabama coach is expected to co-chair a brand-new commission on college sports alongside Texas Tech NIL collective founder Cody Campbell and former President Donald Trump. The group’s purpose? Untangling the mess that college athletics—especially football—has become in the NIL era.
The commission plans to tackle everything from player movement in the transfer portal to Title IX issues, revenue sharing, and the chaotic state of booster involvement.
Let’s be real: this is finally a decision that is long overdue.
All that being said, ifNick Saban truly wants to cement his legacy by helping fix the sport, here are the three bold moves his commission must make.
1. Tame the NIL & Revenue Sharing Chaos
NIL isn’t the enemy—it’s the way it’s being abused that’s the problem.
Name, Image, and Likeness should absolutely empower student-athletes. They should be able to cash in on their personal brand, make appearances, land endorsement deals, and benefit from their success. But what we have now isn’t that—it’s backdoor bidding wars disguised as NIL. Collectives are offering high schoolers six-figure deals just to commit. That’s not NIL. That’s free agency without rules. They're also tampering with other team's players.
The commission needs to push for strong, clear national standards on NIL deals. That includes transparency, oversight, and ideally, a financial cap for revenue sharing — which will be a different thing than NIL. No other sport operates without a salary ceiling. Why should college football? If we’re moving toward a world where revenue sharing is the norm, then the playing field should be somewhat level financially.
Otherwise, only the richest schools—Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon—will consistently dominate the recruiting landscape, not because of culture, coaching, or development, but because they simply outbid everyone else. That’s not what college football is supposed to be.
2. Fix the Transfer Portal and Redefine Eligibility
Right now, the transfer portal is a free-for-all. Players are hopping schools more often than some fans buy jerseys. And while mobility and opportunity are good things in theory, what we’ve got now is instability. Chaos. And it’s hurting both players and programs.
The solution? Streamline the system.
First, narrow it to one transfer window. Coaches and players both need clarity and breathing room. Second, incentivize loyalty. Revenue sharing should be scaled by experience and commitment. Juniors and seniors who stay with their programs should see a bigger piece of the pie—rewarding development and discouraging short-term exits.
Also, we’ve got to end the constant loopholes in eligibility. Right now, players can bounce from school to school with waivers and redshirts and "medical hardships" that make things even harder to track. Just make it simple: five years to play, no redshirts, one free transfer. After that? You lose a year of eligibility if you decide to move again as an undergrad. Am I saying there won't be exceptions to the rule? Sure, there may be a few, but those will be "exceptions," not the rule.
It’s not about punishing kids. It’s about setting expectations—and restoring some sense of stability to college football rosters. If every athlete knows they’ve got five years and one free shot at a fresh start, that’s both fair and firm.
And you know who else benefits from this? The fans. You know, the people who are paying and watching the product. You might want to think of them.
3. Regulate the Agent Free-For-All
One of the most overlooked disasters in modern college football is the shady underworld of “agents."
Right now, anyone can act as a middleman for a college athlete. A family friend, a coach, a cousin, a neighbor who once sold insurance—they’re all suddenly “representing” kids in NIL talks. And the truth is, many of these so-called agents have zero experience, zero certification, and zero concern for the athlete’s long-term future.
The NFL has strict agent rules for a reason. So should college football.
Saban’s commission must push for a national registry of certified agents who are allowed to represent athletes. There need to be standards—background checks, ethics policies, consequences for bad actors. Players deserve guidance, not grifters. And right now, too many are being set up to fail by people who see them as a quick payday.
Let’s be blunt: a 17-year-old shouldn’t be expected to navigate the legal and financial implications of a $500,000 NIL deal without experienced representation. That’s asking for disaster. By stepping in here, the commission can help protect kids from exploitation—and protect the sport from further erosion.