Will Nick Saban Actually Be Involved in Potential Presidential NIL Commission?

When former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban hung up the whistle after the 2023 season, numerous folks speculated that a big part of the reason was a dislike of the system in college football surrounding Name, Image, and Likeness.

It make sense given the fact that Saban -- arguably the best coach in the history of the sport -- has only done it one way for the better part of five decades.

Though he did a decent job of adapting, he clearly did not like the direction the sport was heading in and decided getting out was in his best interest.

Since then, he has stayed busy with numerous TV gigs and media opportunities, however the most notable thing he has done is speaking out in support of helping the future of college football.

Players getting paid is clearly part of the equation moving forward, and Saban has argued for reforming the system to simply make them professionals.

The rhetoric surrounding the legendary head coach getting involved in some sort of role to help the sport navigate through this era of chaos ramped up in the last couple of weeks as speculation has grown surrounding presidential intervention.

After President Donald Trump made an appearance at the University of Alabama campus for a commencement speech and was introduced by Saban, news broke that Trump was considering an executive order to form a "presidential commission" on college sports.

It was reported that Saban would be a very key part of the commission and potentially even the co-chair, though he seemed to temper that expectation when asked about it during this past week.

As he has always said though, he is willing to do anything that would help the sport of college football and allow athletes to create value for themselves not just now, but in the future as well.

In what capacity he's going to serve appears to be up for debate, however if a commission were to be formed, he would likely be involved.

The question will become what any sort of commission is actually going to be able to help accomplish as the sport moves into what feels like a new era every single day.

It's voices like Saban that carry a lot of weight though, and as college football and college sports as a whole continue to figure themselves out, it will take people like him to help steer things in the right direction.