Paul Finebaum explains the real reason Nick Saban is voicing his concerns about NIL

Following day one of the SEC spring meetings, college football analyst Paul Finebaum joined ESPN’s Get Up to discuss the ongoing NIL conversation between the conference leadership. He revealed what he believes to be the real reason behind Nick Saban’s recent screed about Name, Image and Likeness reform.

Saban started a firestorm when he called out Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher’s alleged NIL schemes and it’s been the main topic of the SEC meetings this week.

“[With] Nick Saban, this is not the first time he’s spoken [about NIL],” Finebaum said. “He’s really worked several members of the media privately over the last couple of months, and you know a few of them very well. And he’s been trying to get his message out, but he really didn’t get it out very effectively. Because his message, as important as he is, is not really going to change anything.

“But as another coach told me yesterday, Nick Saban is concerned about a couple of things. We make a big deal about his age, he’ll be 71 [later this year], and he’s not old in the parlance of coaching, but he doesn’t have as much runway as these other coaches, including Jimbo Fisher. So, every recruiting class is critical for him to try to pile on some more national championships. And what he had over the rest of college football [in the past], he doesn’t have and that’s a stranglehold. That stranglehold has now been spread out and Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M are incredibly in better shape to recruit under the NIL model because they have so much more money at Texas A&M and in Texas.”

Fisher, Aggies pull in No. 1 recruiting class over Saban

The Alabama head coach has been one of the most vocal opponents of the direction of college football recruiting. Saban maintains that he approves of the system as it enables players to make money on their work. However, he continues to disapprove of colleges seemingly using money as a direct recruiting tool.

While speaking at an event celebrating the 50-day countdown to the World Games in Birmingham, Saban reportedly claimed that Texas A&M “bought every player on their team.”

“I know the consequence is going to be difficult for the people who are spending tons of money to get players,” Saban said via AL.com. “You read about it, you know who they are. We were second in recruiting last year. A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness.

“We didn’t buy one player. Aight? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future, because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

The Crimson Tide came in second to the Aggies in the 2022 recruiting class rankings. With nine On3 Consensus five-star signees, the class Texas A&M class was the best in history.