College Football

Nick Saban not sure current NIL rules are sustainable

The vast changes that college football and other college sports have experienced over the last 12 months are unsustainable according to Nick Saban.

The Alabama coach told the Associated Press this week that the lack of rules surrounding the ways that athletes can now make money via endorsements have created a situation “where you can basically buy players.” After decades of being unable to use their own image rights to make money while playing college sports, NCAA athletes are now able to sign endorsement deals. That, Saban said, has led to more players transferring to see if they can make more money via NIL deals elsewhere.

“The concept of name, image and likeness was for players to be able to use their name, image and likeness to create opportunities for themselves. That’s what it was,” Saban said. “So last year on our team, our guys probably made as much or more than anybody in the country.”

“But that creates a situation where you can basically buy players,” Saban said. “You can do it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s what we want college football to be, I don’t know. And you can also get players to get in the transfer portal to see if they can get more someplace else than they can get at your place.”

Saban isn’t against the concept of athletes making money off their image rights. He even noted that Alabama players likely made more than any other school’s players in NIL deals. That’s yet another selling point for players considering Alabama.

He’s also not alone among coaches who have spoken out against the way the NCAA currently governs NIL deals and the lack of governance’s impact on recruiting. The NCAA waived its provision preventing athletes from getting sponsor income in the wake of myriad state laws that would have allowed college athletes to get sponsorships. And while the NCAA has repeatedly asked Congress for federal rules to govern college athletes’ sponsorship deals, Congress has showed little interest in providing…

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