Why did Nick Saban rant about Texas A&M and NIL? Breaking down the fiery comments

There are two ways to think about Alabama coach Nick Saban’s scathing remarks about multiple college football programs and their alleged payments through NIL deals to secure recruits in the Class of 2022, including Texas A&M.

“We were second in recruiting last year,” Saban said Wednesday night. “A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn’t buy one player. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it.”

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The first way to think about it is that he it was highly calculated and meant to do exactly what it did, as his comments blazed around social media like a fire through a dry field. That he was more than willing to take the short-term heat — which he is certainly under at the moment — in order to raise a larger conversation about the current uneven landscape of NIL practices and how it pertains to recruiting.

The second is that it was a misstep, that he got caught up in the moment at an event to help promote the World Games, being held in Birmingham this summer. That he talked himself into going further and further and further like we often see in his news conferences when he wants to deliver a message. And by the time it was over, his comments had circled the globe.

Saban has already drawn the ire of Deion Sanders, the head coach of Jackson State, a program Saban mentioned in his remarks. Sanders posted on Twitter that he would directly address Saban’s “lies” as it pertained to the alleged $1 million recruitment of the nation’s top player, Travis Hunter, who flipped to Jackson State from Florida State on signing day.

You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow. I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB ! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) May 19, 2022

Earlier this year, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher verbally sparred with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin regarding his indirect comments about how the Aggies secured the top-ranked class in 2022. On Thursday morning, Fisher held a news conference in which he aggressively responded to Saban’s comments.

“It’s a shame that we have to do this. It’s really despicable,” Fisher said. “It’s despicable that somebody can say things about somebody and, more importantly, 17-year-old kids. You’re taking shots at 17-year-old kids and their families. That they broke state laws, that we bought every player on this group. We never bought anybody. No rules were broken. Nothing was done wrong.”

To willingly open himself up to this controversy, Saban clearly showed he’s frustrated with how NIL is being used differently around the country. There’s good reason why he’s frustrated. The calendar is almost into June, and his 2023 recruiting class has only three verbal commitments. Vanderbilt has four.

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Of course, it’s not only a matter of quantity. If it wanted to, Alabama could have more commits in its class, but not from its top targets. Those targets are taking their time and Alabama is not rushing the process. But the vagueness of NIL is clearly slowing the process.

Multiple sources told The Athletic that more than one in-state recruit is seeking an NIL deal to commit. Alabama has said from the inception of its collective, High Tide Traditions, that the collective will not serve as a medium for recruiting inducements. Recently, the NCAA said it intends to crack down on boosters using NIL to influence recruits.

No one feels badly for Alabama, which has stacked top-ranked recruiting classes on top of each other for so long that it’s dizzying. Even last year, when Saban said the Aggies “bought every player on their team” through NIL, Alabama finished second in the 247Sports Composite. But it’s the future that clearly has Saban a bit uncomfortable. If he isn’t permitted to recruit the same way he alleges others are, that puts him and his program at a distinct disadvantage. And he doesn’t mind putting himself out there to call it out. He’s not social media, so he’s not seeing the fallout the way anyone who has opened Twitter on Thursday morning can see.

Everyone seemingly has an opinion on this, and it’s not trending in Saban’s direction. It’s an avalanche the other way. What no one is talking about, though, is that the whole of Saban’s comments were accurate: NIL was never meant to be a vehicle to pay for recruits. It was put into play for active players to capitalize on their marketability. But where Saban stepped afoul was framing it as players being “bought.” He shouldn’t have phrased it that way, and he could have delivered the same message by being vague and not naming any program specifically.

Saban won’t back down from this, but this controversy at a time when there’s little happening on the college football calendar will rage into SEC spring meetings in a couple of weeks, SEC media days in July and preseason camp in August — and onward until the Crimson Tide host Texas A&M on Oct. 8.

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Multiple sources have told The Athletic that during recruiting pitches, almost every recruit has said at some point during the visit something to the effect of: “That’s great, but what kind of NIL deal can I get?” Saban, who has long been the sport’s best recruiter, has always had an answer and a plan for everything. This time he doesn’t.

Saban is looking for guidance from the NCAA, an organization that isn’t in a place to hold everyone accountable to the same rules. Collectives have changed the game. Alabama is playing it one way, and Saban feels others are playing it another. That isn’t likely to change in the immediate future.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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