Nick Saban calls for 'competitive venue for everybody' in college football, similar to NFL

Even before Nick Saban decided to retire from coaching, he was going to be one of the leaders to shape the future of college football. Now stepping away from the Alabama job, his role only becomes more prominent as he can help from the outside. Saban has been vocal on many modern issues, most notably the NCAA transfer portal and NIL.

Saban recently spoke on college football needing a “competitive venue for everybody” in the sport, mainly on the financial side. He pointed to what the NFL does with the salary cap, giving all 32 teams the same amount of money on a yearly basis. Top players get paid quite well and even guys lower on the roster are compensated fairly.

“I’m all for guys making money,” Saban said during Monday’s episode of The Paul Finebaum Show. “But I think it’s got to be disrupted in a way that’s fair and creates a competitive venue for everybody, like the NFL. They have a salary cap.”

Having money spread out the entire roster might be coming in the not-too-distant future. A recent report from ESPN said the NCAA is in “deep discussions” to settle a NIL antitrust case and begin revenue sharing in college football. Reportedly, each school could have $20 million to give to athletes across all sports.

Saban went on to discuss more than just the finances, though. He mentioned how there is always parity on the field because big NFL decisions are based on the previous year’s record.

“If you win, you draft last,” Saban said. “If you lose, you draft first. You play a harder schedule if you win, you play an easier schedule if you lose. They’re always trying to create parity because you got to take the fans into consideration.”

In college football, top programs are consistently getting the best high school players in the country. Alabama under Saban was the best example, continually finishing with a top-three class and dominating the recruiting rankings. The likes of Georgia and Ohio State were not too far behind, either.

Most fans knew when one of those three came on the schedule, their team was going to be on the losing end. The level of rosters was just not on the same level. The same cannot be said for the NFL, even if one team is clearly better than the other. The term ‘Any Given Sunday’ is quite popular around the league.

“Fans want to see good games,” Saban said. “And we do have some outstanding leagues out there. So, there’s going to be more competition, better games in the leagues. But to keep a balance in all those teams so that everybody has an equal opportunity to have a chance to have a good team.”

The Big Ten and SEC are both expanding this offseason, growing to 18 and 16 members, respectively. Neither is thought to be a final product and could add more teams, pending lawsuits ACC schools currently have.

If there is going to be an NFL-style model coming to college football, you have to imagine those two leagues will be at the forefront.