College football world blasts Nick Saban for latest NIL comments

Anyone who thought Alabama coach Nick Saban might back off somewhat after his comments on name, image and likeness (or NIL) deals was mistaken.

Saban was back at it on Wednesday with more comments about NIL deals and some of the colleges to sign players to them — specifically Texas A&M and Jackson State.

The comments about Jackson State, in particular, caught the eye of several college football fans. Notably, there’s one important question that lingers. What will the relationship be like between Saban and Jackson State coach Deion Sanders when the next set of Aflac commercials is filmed?

https://twitter.com/downi75/status/1527126915089412096

So Saban and Deion gonna keep doing Aflac commercials….? https://t.co/KiJcCveGm3

— R&R Cigars (@RandRCigars) May 19, 2022

There’s another lingering issue that goes beyond the potential awkwardness that may exist on the Aflac commercial sets.

Not even one week before these comments, Saban expressed a desire to see NCAA Football return to parity. Ignoring, for a second, that NCAA Football has historically had less parity than any other major American sport — college or professional — if Saban wants parity, why is he complaining about other schools getting top talent?

Texas A&M has some wins against Saban’s Alabama teams but the program has never been on Alabama’s level in Saban’s era. Jackson State certainly isn’t close. It’s not even a Division 1 program. If Saban wants parity, isn’t seeing top players going to those teams a good thing?

Given all of that — and that Alabama will certainly do fine with NIL players — college football fans were highly critical of Saban’s most recent comments.

[Mike Rodak]