Alabama's Nick Saban on NIL contracts: I don't want 'to create a caste system'

Like the rest of college football, Nick Saban is navigating the new world of player name and image rights. In order to manage this, the Alabama coach wants his team to adopt a model that rewards everyone equally.

Saban said in a recent interview with Ralph D. Russo of The Associated Press that he wants to ensure that every player on the Crimson Tide gets an equal payment, as he does not want a “caste system” to develop within the team.

“We give everybody the same medical care, academic support, food service. Same scholarship,” Saban said. “So if we’re going to do this, then everybody is going to benefit equally. I’m not going to create a caste system on our team.”

Saban admitted the current system is not sustainable, and that he does not want to see it turn into a system that simply allows top programs to “buy players.”

Saban’s idea is a good one, and the sport would likely benefit if it could be adopted universally. That is not going to happen, though. That leaves college football still looking for workable solutions to the new issues the current system presents. If those issues are not solved, one of Saban’s fellow coaches sees big changes ahead.