Nick Saban Issues Unfiltered Response to Anti-NIL Accusations Against Him

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Orlando Silva | Last updated May 20, 2025 4:14 PM ET

Legendary football coach Nick Saban clarified his stance on the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals that have taken over college sports since the start of the decade. Back on July 1, 2021, the policy went into effect, allowing college athletes to start making money from their NIL rights.

After many years of people trying to allow college athletes to make some money without necessarily going to the pros, these athletes, and sometimes team managers, have had the chance to make a lot of money while still in college.

Nick Saban, who was one of the three legendary coaches to retire or end a big chapter of their career in 2024 (alongside Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll) was reportedly against the idea of college athletes making millions earlier than before.

Talking with reporters at his Nick's Kids Golf Tournament on Tuesday, the Alabama Crimson Tide icon was asked about all the comments suggesting he was anti-NIL. Saban rejected that notion, but pointed out that there are several things to fix before the system can work as properly as desired.

"I'm not anti-NIL," Saban firmly said. "I'm all for the players making money. I don't think we have a sustainable system right now. I think a lot of people would agree with that, in terms of the future of college athletics, not just football, but how do we sustain 20 other non-revenue sports that create lots of opportunities for people in the future? I know there's been a lot of stuff out there about some commission or whatever. I don't think we need a commission.

"I've said that before. I think we know what the issues are. I think we just have to have people who are willing to move those and solve those and create some solutions for some of those issues. I'm all for being a consultant to anybody who would think that my experience would be beneficial to helping create some of those solutions."

This topic has always been controversial, but it wasn't the reason why Saban stepped away from one of the most iconic programs in college football history and transitioned into an analyst role.

There are still many things to fix, as he said, but he also offered his help to whoever wants to give it a try to for college athletics' well-being.

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

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