Legendary former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said in an article from ESPN that the priorities of the modern college football player are not what he’s used to as the head coach of a major program.
The introduction of the transfer portal did not allow Saban to hold four and five-star players on the bench like he did in the past.
The introduction of NIL took away credence from Saban’s biggest attraction point as a recruiter, which was a really good chance to make it into the NFL.
Nick Saban did not like where Alabama Crimson Tide players’ heads were after the loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was “disappointed” in how his players acted after they lost the Rose Bowl to the Michigan Wolverines.
On top of being disappointed with how they reacted to the loss, Saban felt he couldn’t resonate with the players’ motivations going into the offseason, as he explains in this article from ESPN.
“I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play because they’re thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me?” Saban recounted. “Our program here was always built on how much value can we create for your future and your personal development, academic success in graduating and developing an NFL career on the field.
“So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different and that it’s all about how much money can I make as a college player?’ I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that’s never been what we were all about, and it’s not why we had success through the years.”
One of the best players on Nick Saban’s defense in 2023, cornerback Caleb Downs, left the Alabama Crimson Tide for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Downs’ NIL valuation was nearly $1 million, according to On3.
Downs wasn’t even one of the players who had a chance to sit on the bench next year. Several other players decided to leave after the retirement of Saban who would’ve had to wait their turn in the Nick Saban systems of the recent past.
Many Fans are calling Nick Saban a hypocrite for criticizing Alabama Crimson Tide players wanting a paycheck
In August of 2022, former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban signed an eight-year contract extension worth roughly $93.6 million. This contract made him the highest-paid coach in college football in 2022 and 2023.
He made $10.695 million in 2022 and $11.1 million in 2023. If he would’ve continued coaching, he would’ve made $12.7 million in 2029. This extremely high salary has many fans calling Saban a hypocrite for criticizing college football players who want to get paid.
Nick Saban is the highest paid person in Alabama and yet he has the audacity to get upset when players try to engage in the same sort of contract negotiations that Saban had with Alabama
— The Kennedy Battalion (@kennedybattalio) March 6, 2024
College players were not able to partake in the billions being generated with TV contracts, bowl revenue, and merchandise. Coaches and administrators never had an issue leveraging those $ for higher contracts. Now the players have an opportunity and it is wrong?
— Baba Yaga (@cliftonws74) March 6, 2024
“They weren’t forced to listen to me anymore and actually wanted to be fairly compensated for their time and talents. So I bounced”
— Jimmy Butler’s Butler (@GioDempsey) March 6, 2024
A very small fraction of the players on an Alabama team are gonna have a 3-year career in the nfl. A fraction. And he was the best at it.
So it’s not insane for the rest of them to want to maximize their financial value, while they have financial value. As we all would!!!— Bob Staak (@BobStaak) March 6, 2024
High-level football is an incredibly dangerous sport and there is a lot of money made off of the hard work of the college football players involved. While Nick Saban wanted players who were bought into the team, there would be no one left to take care of a player who couldn’t earn money due to an injury or some other unforeseen circumstance.
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