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A. J. McCarron Puts His Faith in Nick Saban To Save College Football

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated May 19, 2025 1:05 PM ET

The game of college football is quickly changing with the world of NIL running rampant.

Players are getting NIL deals in the million-dollar range, and the transfer portal has been spiraling out of control the past few years.

A large crowd is pounding the table to change the game and set guardrails in this matter. One of them is former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban.

After Saban retired from coaching, he became an analyst for ESPN's "College GameDay."

Now, he is working hard behind the scenes to help change the game. Saban was recently appointed to co-chair President Donald Trump's commission on college athletics.

It remains to be seen what he will do and how this commission will change things, but former Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron has full faith in Saban to make the changes to the game of college football, as he said during an episode of "The Next Round."

"I'm not a fan of college football right now," McCarron said. "I think it's a (expletive) show with everything and hopefully, with Saban getting co-chairman on that board helps bring some structure to it because they need it. It hurts to think about it because I missed out on a lot of money from that sense."

On top of that role, Saban also met with Texas Tech booster and billionaire Cody Campbell in an effort to discuss the commission and see what changes can be made as they "have begun the process of pooling recommendations for other commission members," per the initial report.

So, McCarron, who played in Tuscaloosa with Saban, has faith that his former head coach can help advocate some change in the sport.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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