Nick Saban’s candid thoughts on the state of college football are truly worth listening to

When Nick Saban says that the current climate around college athletics made it difficult for him to get the same buy-in from players that had previously helped his program sustain dominance from year to year, it’s worth listening to.

But it’s just as important for college athletics to take the right lesson from what he’s saying.

In comments to ESPN that will surely make a splash among those pushing for so-called “guardrails” around name, image and likeness payments and the current transfer free-for-all, Saban acknowledged to a greater extent than ever before how those developments factored into his decision to retire almost two months ago.

“I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then maybe 70 or 80% 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 said. “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.”

There’s a lot to unpack from that comment, so let’s do the best we can without defaulting to how many times Saban got his contract extended and the $11 million-plus salary he was making by the end of his tenure.

Nick Saban retired following the 2023 season.

While it’s always easy to point the hypocrisy meter toward highly-paid coaches…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-sabans-candid-thoughts-state-202258174.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-06 20:22:58

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