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Deion Sanders says he knows why Nick Saban retired from college football

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By James Parks | Last updated Jan 11, 2024 1:22 PM ET

College football was stunned to hear that legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban, regarded by most as the greatest in the sport's 155-year history, decided to retire following a career that included an NCAA-record seven national championships. And after leading the Crimson Tide to a record eighth College Football Playoff appearance, the question remains: Why now?

Taking to his X account after hearing of Saban's bombshell decision, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, who appears with Saban in Aflac commercials, posed the theory that recent and remarkable changes to the structure of college football, including especially NIL and the transfer portal, inspired the coach to leave the game for good.

"The game has change[d] so much that it chased the GOAT away," Sanders said on X. "College football let's hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see."

WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement. WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let's hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see. #CoachPrime @CUBuffsFootball
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) January 10, 2024

Exactly why Saban elected to walk away at this point remains an open question, and the coach has not offered any official reasons for his decision.

However, a recent report from 247Sports quoting people inside the program suggested that Saban cited "age and health concerns" for his retirement from football.

Saban, 72, apparently surprised many assistants and all his players when he made his announcement to them on Wednesday, especially as he had been interviewing candidates for the Crimson Tide's vacant wide receivers coach position, and had been a full participant in the SEC head coaches call that day.

But clearly, throughout that time and before, Saban must have been privately entertaining thoughts of leaving the game behind for good. That day has come.

This article first appeared on CFB-HQ on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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