College football players are tackling much different priorities in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, according to Nick Saban.
The sport’s changing landscape felt particularly evident to the former Alabama coach as he met with his team following the 2023 season, shortly before he retired.
“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 told ESPN in an interview published Wednesday.
Saban, who won seven national championships in his 28 seasons as a head college football coach, retired in January at age 72, less than two weeks after leading the Crimson Tide to another berth in the College Football Playoff. Alabama replaced him with Kalen DeBour, who just took Washington to the national championship game.
While Saban didn’t specify why he decided to retire, he acknowledged to ESPN that his past methods weren’t resonating as much with today’s athletes.
“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,” Saban said.
“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,” Saban said. “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.”
The NCAA updated its rules in 2021, allowing players to make money off of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) and letting them transfer without sitting out a year.
Saban, who won six of his NCAA championships during his 17 seasons with Alabama, is hardly the first veteran coach to discuss the challenges presented by NIL and the transfer portal. Rick Pitino, who overhauled the St. John’s roster through the portal after taking the St. John’s job last year, has described college sports as free agency.
“It’s a tough time in college basketball right now, and for us, we can’t really build programs and a culture because everybody leaves,” Pitino said last month. “We did it with six fifth-year guys [this season]. They’re all gonna leave, and then we’ve got to replace [them] with new free agents.”
