Nick Saban has never been afraid to say what’s on his mind, and now that he’s retired from coaching, he’s speaking even more freely—especially when it comes to the chaos surrounding college football's NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) era.
After a recent meeting with Donald Trump, where the two reportedly discussed the possibility of an executive order aimed at reforming NIL practices, Saban found himself on the receiving end of some pretty loud backlash. Critics jumped on the narrative that he’s trying to “protect the system that made him rich” or that he’s meddling in matters that don’t concern him.
But that criticism misses the mark completely. If anything, Nick Saban is one of the few voices in this space who actually gets what’s happening—and he’s trying to warn people before it’s too late.
Nick Saban Isn’t Against NIL—He’s Against Chaos
Let’s get one thing straight: no one is arguing that college athletes shouldn’t be paid or trying to say that players don't have rights. Not Saban. Not Trump. Not anyone seriously involved in this conversation. The reality is that athletes have earned the right to benefit from their name, image, and likeness, and that door should never be closed again. That part is non-negotiable. But what has gone off the rails is how uncontrolled and uneven the system has become.
NIL was supposed to allow players to make money off their personal brand—not become a full-blown bidding war between programs. And yet here we are. Top recruits are fielding multi-million dollar offers. Some players switch schools like NFL free agents — every single year, just based on the offer. Meanwhile, there’s no salary cap, no regulation, and no accountability. Coaches have even said that they now spend more time trying to retain their current roster than they do recruiting new talent.
Saban reportedly brought this up in his meeting with Trump, calling the current state of affairs “damaging to college sports.” And he’s not wrong. In just the last year, over 4,000 Division I football players entered the transfer portal. According to Opendorse, nearly $1.7 billion changed hands through NIL deals in the 2024-25 cycle. That’s not a sustainable system, and that's going to hurt the sport in the long-term.
Critics like Steve Berman, who’s working on the NCAA House Settlement, accused Saban of trying to protect the status quo that made him rich. But that’s a lazy take. Saban’s not trying to turn back the clock—he’s asking for some structure, some common-sense regulation to prevent the sport from spiraling further into imbalance.
And let’s be honest: college football isn’t supposed to be a lifelong career. It’s a stepping stone. It’s a place to grow, to learn, and for some, to launch into the NFL. Turning it into a cash-grab free agency circus doesn’t help the players in the long run. It makes them commodities instead of student-athletes.
But, then again, what would Nick Saban — who many consider the greatest college football coach of all-time who was a part of the sport for decades — know about that?