DALLAS — Nick Saban’s announcement at the annual SEC meetings that “I have no problem with Jimbo” didn’t resolve much Tuesday since it was the Alabama coach who initiated the fight two weeks ago, saying Texas A&M bought its entire recruiting class and that the Crimson Tide had not bought a single player.
Now Saban tells us that he never said buying was wrong.
When the Aggies’ Jimbo Fisher speaks Thursday, we will learn whether or not these fabulously rich coaches have at least put the public portion of their feud behind them. I suspect, given the opportunity to take the high road after Saban made himself look silly with his muted apology, Fisher will ride off into the sunset on that path. Of course, Fisher already called Saban a narcissist and said, “Go dig into his past, you can find out what he does and how he does it. It’s despicable.”
We’re unlikely to get more of that Thursday, in which case we will wait not so patiently until Oct. 8 when the two can trade figurative punches from their respective benches in Tuscaloosa.
But somewhere lost in translation of what Saban was telling Alabama boosters — when he actually went after both Fisher and Jackson State’s Deion Sanders for buying recruits — there was a point worthy of further discussion. Saban was just the worst guy to be making the point.
He pondered whether a system in which NIL money — the dollars athletes were supposed to earn based on their image and likeness after they arrived on campus and established their star power — had simply been recast as recruit-buying money would be sustainable. Again a head coach, even the greatest head coach of this era, is still the wrong person to be wringing his hands over sustainability when he’s making $9.5 million per year that does not include incentives for postseason games or bonuses for simply staying at Alabama another year.
But NIL did go off the rails quicker than most of us imagined. First, there were scattered stories about established quarterbacks getting deals to promote anything from car dealers to chicken restaurants. That was fine. Sounded like the way it was supposed to work. But what emerged in the first season in which it was suddenly not against NCAA rules to provide benefits to players was the “collective” — the booster-operated funds at each major university that can now pour millions into the pockets of players each season.
Since all of this happened as a result of state laws being changed, what few rules or guidelines exist differ across the country. High school athletes in Louisiana can sign their own NIL deals while Texas athletes cannot, although that law seems likely to change and soon. You probably recall Southlake Carroll quarterback Quinn Ewers, the nation’s top recruit two years ago, skipping his senior season to sign with and enroll at Ohio State which allowed him to collect NIL money. Ewers played two downs for the Buckeyes before entering the transfer portal. He’s now a Texas Longhorn.
To say things may get a little wild in this new system is an understatement. A more reasonable and fair system would have been for proven players to cash in on their college fame, but once the doors were thrown open to boosters getting to live their ownership dreams, there was never going to be any waiting around for that. The facts are that not all high school recruits play to their projections, that some quit, that many will transfer and there will be chaos — I don’t think anyone can dispute this.
Is it sustainable?
Of course it is, financially. Over a 10-year period, Auburn spent more than $31 million paying football coaches not to coach there any more. You think these schools don’t have money sources to tap into to collect quarterbacks and wide receivers?
Mostly the rich will continue to spend the most and get the best players, and if you are looking five years into the future, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State would be good teams to project into the championship picture. But actually if it’s all about spending money, it levels the playing field a bit or at least gives new and willing spenders the chance to compete. You’ve still got to know what you’re doing and have the coaches and the facilities in place. But on the flip side, just having those coaches and weight rooms won’t win you any prizes if you aren’t paying big bucks to get the athletes.
Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin — actually a voice of reason on the college landscape these days — told SI that 100% of recruit’s decisions are now made based on NIL money, that some players agree without ever taking campus visits. Kiffin thinks a salary cap could be coming. Imagine that. College football getting a salary cap before major league baseball. Who would have guessed?
Saban is correct that it’s awkward for states to provide different sets of rules, but beyond that, which should be short-lived, this is simply the new world of college football and basketball. Things that used to be hush-hush are moving out into the open. It’s not going to work for everybody, but the idea that fairness in college football will be diminished is foolish. The scholarship limits imposed more than 40 years ago were supposed to bring parity to the college game. But there’s only room for a few teams at the top, and the cast doesn’t change much from year to year.
Until there is some uniformity to the rules, my bet is the main change will be more coaches getting angry and calling each other out. And we’re all here for that.
