Nick Saban goes in depth on the challenges of navigating current college football landscape

Name, image, and likeness have completely changed the college football landscape in a short amount of time, as student-athletes are now getting paid at an unprecedented level across the country. Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked about the impact of NIL at SEC spring meetings, and if this new era of college football has lost its amateur essence that once made the game so special.

“Well I would certainly agree that there are some challenges that the current situation that we’re in presents in terms of amateur athletics,” Saban said. “Name, image, and likeness is a good thing for players to have the opportunity to make money, but when it turns into pay for play, then now you’re getting into a different area. And I think when you start talking about players being employees, you’re talking about unions, you’re talking about now you’re getting paid for something, you have to pay tax.”

One of the biggest aspects of NIL that coaches and decision-makers seem to agree on across the board is the fact that there aren’t enough rules, regulations, or guardrails surrounding its policy. Many are uncertain about what is allowed and what is not in the NIL space, resulting in a lot of misunderstanding and questions that the NCAA is yet to answer.

“And we probably invest, I don’t know Greg Byrne could tell you better, 85 (thousand) to a hundred thousand dollars on every player that we have. Whether it’s academic support, tutoring, personal development programs, whatever it might be, there’s a tremendous investment that’s made in player development. Not only football wise, but academically as well as personally, so you’re going to start paying tax on all that?” Saban asked. “Just cause you got a tutor you, got to pay tax on what it cost? I don’t know. Do you have to pay tax on the gear that you get?”

For many years a full scholarship and various stipends that covered basic needs like food and housing were all student-athletes received when they arrived on campus. But with student-athletes now getting paid in other ways and pursuing other streams of revenue, college athletics could see itself becoming more reminiscent of a professional sports league.

“So all of these things to me, I made the statement years ago and I got very criticized for it, is this what we want college football to become? So now it’s kind of becoming that and I don’t think it’s going to be a level playing field, because some people were showing a willingness to spend more than others,” Saban said. “Where if you want to bring the NFL into it they have a salary cap, they have all the things that level the playing field. And we could put guidelines on some of the stuff that would do the same thing.”

It’s no secret that some programs with a larger bankroll will be able to invest more in NIL, and with NIL’s impact on recruiting, ultimately have a greater chance at landing top recruits. It’s also not a secret that college athletics, especially football, generate a ton of revenue. And while it is nice that players can now finally reap the benefits of such a lucrative industry, Saban made it clear that he still believes college football is not a business.

“I think the mistake that people make is college athletics is not a business, people say it’s a business. It’s not a business, it’s revenue producing. When I was a coach at the Miami Dolphins Wayne Huizenga owned the team, that was a business. He took a profit, he made money, he mad a huge investment,” Saban explained. “That doesn’t happen in college athletics, we reinvest every cent that gets made to non-revenue sports to scholarships, to a lot of things that create a lot of opportunity for a lot of people, which is really really good.”

Saban and coaches across the country have been forced to adapt to these different times, with many just trying to find their footing and some sort of balance in this new college football landscape. But Saban and many others still have questions regarding NIL, and if they aren’t answered soon, aspects of college football that fans have grown to love and adore could potentially be tarnished.

“So we’re not talking about the same thing, it’s not really a business, it’s revenue producing. And nobody takes a profit, all the money gets reinvested in other opportunities for other people, whether it’s facilities, whether it’s scholarships, whether it’s opportunities for people to play. And if we continue down this road are we going to be able to continue to have those opportunities? I think those are all good questions that somebody probably ought to answer,” Saban said.