Nick Saban Is Too Successful to Complain About NIL

Nick Saban had some choice words for Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, but they seemed  unwarranted — after all, what does the winningest active college football coach have to complain about?

On Wednesday, Saban called out the Aggies for “buying” their top-ranked class via name, image, and likeness, while his Crimson Tide did it “the right way” — with 25 players leveraging roughly $3 million in NIL deals, according to Saban himself.

In response, Saban’s former assistant coach told reporters, “I know how some of those guys recruit, too… You don’t want to go down that avenue.” 

• Entering 2021, Saban claimed 11 of the last 14 recruiting titles — including seven straight.
• Alabama QB Bryce Young is one of college football’s highest-paid athletes.
• The Heisman winner made roughly $1 million in NIL deals with BMW, Cash App, Subway, and Logan’s Roadhouse.

Their roots run deep: Fisher was an assistant coach under Saban at LSU from 2000-06, winning a national championship in 2003.

It appears Saban has little to complain about. The Crimson Tide have won the most titles (14) in the AP Poll Era, and Saban himself surpassed Bear Bryant with seven of his own championships — the most for any D1 football coach. 

Plus, his $9.8 million salary is the highest of any college football coach. So what gives? 

Saban sounds mostly upset at the idea that his former assistant has outdone him in the new era of recruiting. The Tide lost to the Aggies in October, then to Georgia in the 2022 National Championship.