"We don't talk about education anymore": Nick Saban opens heart on distressing state of schools as NIL takes over college football

One of the biggest reasons Nick Saban retired in January 2024 was speculated to be the changing dynamics of college football, where NIL was slowly taking over athletics and the emphasis was shifting towards money rather than education or sports.

Well, it turned out to be true and after a brief period of his retirement, Saban subtly mentioned how things are changing in college, with NIL money driving decisions of college athletes while picking a program.

While speaking to Pure Athlete, without naming the institution, Saban mentioned how the program was raising massive funds via collectives and funneling that money to players in the pay-by-play model under the big umbrella of fake endorsements and marketing. He claimed that the focus was no longer about educating athletes or building a foundation for their future.

“We don't talk about education anymore. You know, we had 668 degrees in 17 years in Alabama,” Saban said Saturday (8:00). “We don't promote the right things. We don't help them get an education. "So we changed that dynamic when we started paying players. And players were no longer going to college to see how they could create value for the future, but they were choosing colleges and making decisions about college based on how much money they can make.”

Nick Saban endorses idea of revenue sharing after $2.8 billion settlement

The veteran coach reiterated his previous comments that he loves the idea of paying athletes. But it has to be pure. By pure, he means paying directly for the endorsements and sponsorships they had actually been part of. He shared the example of Bryce Young, who made a lot of NIL money by participating in commercials and endorsement campaigns.

Saban says the historic $2.8 billion House vs NCAA settlement lists guidelines to utilize the money. There will be a regulatory committee to monitor the transfers and dealings. This was not the case previously when there were no regulations to manage NIL.

As per the agreement, starting this year, schools can't spend more than $20.5 million to manage the operations and develop the program.

Edited by Krutik Jain