Nick Saban wants college football to be more like the NFL: 'Unionize it'
Five years ago it would have seemed like an impossibility, for college athletes being paid. This, is despite the fact that those among them with the highest profiles were racking in millions of dollars for their respective schools on an annual basis.
Everything has changed now in the era of NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals. Some of the top athletes in college sports are being paid millions. Meanwhile, especially in college football, smart programs are using the ability to offer more money than their opponents on he recruiting trail to their advantage.
College sports — and especially college football — has always been a business, but now it's out in the open. It's also not necessarily fair or an even playing field, which could be why Alabama's Nick Saban thinks the sports should try a more professional approach with it's players.
“Unionize it, make it like the NFL,” Saban said at the recent SEC Spring meetings. “Make it the same for everyone. Everything they do for NFL is to create parity. If they have every team at 8-8 going into final week of the season, the NFL would love it.”
To Saban's point, college football was already about the "haves and the have-nots". The Alabamas, Ohio States and Georgias of the world were head and shoulders above everyone else in recruiting the top players, with everyone else simply "picking up the scraps".
With the invention of NIL deals, the schism between the top programs and everyone else is growing thanks to the size of their (and their donor's) respective pocketbooks.
If college football wants a more all-around competitive game and competitive field, Saban is right. Even the playing field, financially, and see what happens.
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