Why Nick Saban doesn't actually hate NIL

Nick Saban, alongside other prominent SEC coaches and officials, will meet with lawmakers in Washington D.C. this week to discuss regulations pertaining to name, image and likeness.

Many have taken this news as Saban looking to take action against NIL, but in reality — Saban is looking to set rules in stone to, “level the playing field” for college football. On3’s JD PicKell went to bat for the Alabama head coach, noting that the new landscape of college football hasn’t changed anything for Saban and his program.

“If NIL was going to make recruiting harder for Nick Saban, we would have seen some of that already,” PicKell said. “Nick Saban just signed a No. 1 recruiting class in the 2023 cycle — essentially with no coordinators. Like how J Cole went platinum with no features on Forest Hills Drive, Nick Saban just did that in the recruiting world.”

Saban is on track to sign another top class in 2024, too. Currently, the Crimson Tide have eight commits in the 2024 cycle, good enough to earn them a No. 3 overall team recruiting ranking in the 2024 On3 Industry Rankings.

With four recruits already committed in 2025 — Alabama already has the No. 2 class in that cycle, meaning there’s no slowing down Saban and the Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail no matter how much the landscape continues to shift.

“Nick Saban is still stacking recruiting classes at elite levels, and I don’t think that’s going to change at Alabama as long as Nick Saban is there,” PicKell said.

Alabama has 15-straight 10-win seasons and six national championships to show for Sabans’ efforts on the recruiting trail. That body of work seems to trump any NIL worries for top recruits. Because let’s face it, most of those Alabama recruits will make more in one season once they make it to the NFL than they would in their entire college career.

That isn’t to say star recruits can’t make money in Tuscaloosa. It’s actually the opposite. Former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young was one of the first players to reportedly make a million dollars off NIL deals.

The money will continue to flow as long as the wins do — and Saban hasn’t taken his foot off the gas since he arrived in Tuscaloosa. NIL is just another turn he’s had to make along the way, and his appearance in front of lawmakers this week proves that he wants to spearhead that effort.