The five-time SEC Coach of the Year, and one of the most decorated college football coaches, Nick Saban, has recently shared his insightful thoughts on the topic of Name, Image, and Likeness during a Capitol Hill round table.
One of the greatest football coaches, Saban, shared that what he has believed in during his tenure, which has stretched across five decades, “no longer exists in college athletics”. Saban further mentioned that “It was always about developing players, it was always about helping people be more successful in life.”
And for anyone who might have missed it, these are the comments from Saban that SVP was referencing. pic.twitter.com/5HNcDavQBi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 13, 2024
Saban, who was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, shared a story when Saban and his wife, Terry, hosted a recruitment brunch at their house and his wife later asked him why they were still doing this. Saban then explained, “She said, ‘All they care about is how much you’re gonna pay them, they don’t care about how much you’re gonna develop them, which is what we’ve always done, so why are we doing this?’”
The former head coach led Alabama to six national championships throughout seventeen seasons and also won several accolades. Saban, further continued by supporting a revenue-sharing scheme that would promote the benefits of student-athletes and further create balance in competition.
According to CBS Sports, Saban mentioned, “If we had some sort of revenue sharing proposition that did not make student-athletes employees … I think that may be the long-term solution. You could create a better quality of life for student-athletes, you could still emphasize development, you can still create brand and athletic development with a system like that and it would be equal in all institutions. You couldn’t raise more money at one school to create a competitive advantage at another.”
However, Scott Van Pelt, the illustrious sportscaster and sports talk show host, has recently shared his thoughts, considering what Saban had earlier shared regarding the distribution of revenues among college athletes.
According to Awful Announcing, Van Pelt mentioned, “Naturally, the reaction to Saban’s comments, on social media, was measured. ‘Oh, so you get to care about money and they don’t?’ I get the point. But keep in mind that this man is the all-time winningest coach in the sport in terms of titles. So that’s why he gets paid all the dough. It’s fantastic that players get to make money now. But every single coach, in every single revenue sport, if you’re paying attention, is saying the same thing. ‘This is the only thing that any recruit is asking about now when they come on visits.’”
He further continued, “And I don’t believe that it’s pearl-clutching to wonder if maybe that’s not ideal. Maybe, something about the school and your development there as a human being oughta count as part of your process and you’re line of thinking because overwhelmingly these athletes are gonna have to find a job, which isn’t football, when they leave. Sure, get your money. But there’s more to it. At least there’s supposed to be. Right?”
Van Pelt, in his remarks, indicated that apart from finances being a major component for college athletes, their growth as individuals should be focused on as well.
