Saban the biggest cheater says "CFB Is Not 'Sustainable' with Transfer Portal, NIL Contracts"
This guy is unreal,
After talking about NIL deals and how much his players made, he then goes on to say:
""But that creates a situation where you can basically buy players. "
Link:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10032591-alabamas-nick-saban-cfb-is-not-sustainable-with-transfer-portal-nil-contracts?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial
April 14th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
he's mad he didn't win the title. if he isn't winning it every year, it's the "system's" fault
also, isn't bleacher report website-a non grata?
April 14th, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
Or he's mad that, at his advanced age, he has to be agile and find a new way to combat the loss of his previous "systemic advantage."
Funny that Preacher Dabo said the same thing last week.
There's always viagra.
April 14th, 2022 at 12:01 PM ^
Hes probably made his crew has to bid on and recruit kids again. When you dominate like them, people knock on their door.
If we are being honest Bama benefits as much or more than any team in the country. They already have a built in system for player compensation. They have top 3 class every year, and Saban is a great coach. I didn't read the article but I can't believe people think he is complaining because he no longer has an advantage. He plays in the dirtiest conference in the country, he knows what it takes to win. He's not lying, the system will have to change because it isn't sustainable. The perfect example of that is Quinn Ewers. This kid has made over 1 mill, if you believe the reports, and hasn't started a down in college football. The funny part is the coaches are gonna be the ones that have to take the blame. Jimbo has 2 yrs, 3 max to win a Natty or he's out. You think boosters were impatient before NIL, wait till they don't get their return on investment in 2 yrs. That's when we will see the consequences of NIL. When kids are getting paid legally, expections will change. There will no more "blame me, I'm a man I'm 40". Kids are gonna start feeling booster heat.
Then it sounds like the only people it's "unsustainable" for is....people like him.
College football reflects american society as a whole (why would it otherwise?), corrupt, dishonest, exploitative, two-faced, on and on.
Of course one of the resident monarch wrings his hands in worry when he sees a shake-up coming that could possibly effect him.
Harbaugh loves it. Because Harbaugh can go to an NFL team tomorrow. N.Saban, not so much.
Allowing players to make money of of their own fate/god given likeness, will certainly be the wild west for a few years as it goes through the necessary growing pains.
Players will gain power. Donors will gain power. Hamburger restaurants and vacuum stores will gain power.
That's good for everyone, flaws and all, but not so good for the current vanishingly infintesimal who currently have the power, of course he doesn't like it.
I like 99% of what you said. On board with almost all of it. If this money was being thrown around at several schools (big time money) previously how is all the schools having the same ability going to be an issue?
I find it strange that people thinking Bama Georgia Auburn and maybe a few other schools having the money to spend is ok but now its a step too far. Either everyone can pay or no one. The only thing that holds us back with the NIL is the endless U of M booster and even fans saying..
"Lets just wait awhile before we get into the NIL business and see how it goes. We dont want to misstep."
That line of thinking has put us in big time catch up mode. Be a leader and best in this time of unlimited free agency already. Its time to be the Yankees of college football.
April 14th, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
With the Portal and new NIL, Satan's playing on a level playing field (sort of) and he doesn't like it. What a shame !!!!!
I don't like Saban any more than others on this site. Haven't since his Sparty days. But what he is saying is true. Coaches/schools are basically buying players. I do not think he is whining either, just stating how it is. And I do not think this new reality harms him at all. Given we're talking Alabama there is no amount of $$ they can't pony up. Saban probably believes that if these are the rules that's fine, he will kick everyone's ass anyway.
Coaches like Saban and most programs in the SEC have always bought players. So what he's saying might be true, but now everyone can buy players. And that's what he's whining about.
Yep, and you can bet Jimbo and Texas A&M are really under his skin.
Please spare me. The only reason he’s commenting in this way is the exact opposite of your take. They have been paying players all along…. Most other schools were getting caught and or getting SMU’d. You cannot read that crap and believe that oh Alabama will continue to win a Ship every other year from now on!!! I’d bet money it affects his win loss total and returns to the pinnacle every year.
"Most other schools were getting caught and or getting SMU’d."
Yep. And don't forget Southwest Northern Louisiana State for the Decrepit being punished for big schools getting caught lol
Is there an unlimited amount that Bama can spend? I've wondered for a while how long football programs located in the poorest states can maintain bag/NIL spending. My unscientific thinking is that programs like Clemson, Ole Miss and Tennesse will go through boom/bust cycles depending on available bagman capital. That's why I subscribed to the Michigan Money Cannon theory that has been famously mentioned on this site over the years.
Poorest states? Who do you think is handing over the bags? The governor? As long as they have 10-20 well-heeled alumni football fanatics that together make Stephen-Ross-money (and I’m sure they do), coughing up $10-20 million a year per recruiting class is a drop in the buck for those types. Frankly, it gives them something they can now openly brag about at their alumni booster functions. There will be no shortage of wallets opening up regardless of on-field results.
Alabama doesn't have the population, income or alumni base to generate the same kind of wealth that you find, well, everywhere else in the country. I'm glad it matters more in the SEC, but Saban likely realizes he won't be able to complete in the long run if he is forced to compete financially.
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I've actually been to a few Alabama football games and met with their students. Quite frankly, their greek system makes UM look like it's a 2nd class version. We've got the diag and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. But they've got the quad which the diag would fit into a corner. Their game day is phenomenal. I'm not in love with UA, but we have to be honest with what a recruit is seeing.
Then, they've got the machine. Yes, that is actually a thing. It takes care of all sorts of things including making sure that their students don't end up on the wrong side of the law after a bad night, that they end up with good jobs, that their football team is well taken care of, and on and on.
Right now, and this could change, but top recruits go there because they know they've got a great chance to go to the League. Other than maybe the top 50 recruits, they don't even have to give them any special treatment anymore beyond what the machine provides.
So, I'm not sure that I agree with your argument that they won't be able to compete in the long run. The rules are changing, but I think Bama will continue to have all the ingredients necessary to continue to attract top candidates along with us.
I interpreted it as whining because since buying players is now out in the open, the SEC is losing its competitive advantage.
Don't need bagmen with NIL.
April 14th, 2022 at 10:24 PM ^
I wouldn't sell Saban short. He will figure out how to optimize this new system and then go out and continue to dominate.
April 16th, 2022 at 11:38 AM ^
Fair enough.
Not selling Saban short. He's the GOAT.
But NIL trumps bagmen. SEC will have to find a new way to gain a competitive advantage.
Maybe they'll go all SMU with hookers and blow -- especially since the NCAA is feckless.
He's just butt hurt with the Texas A&M situation right now. He changes with the wind and how it benefits him. Saban is just as big of narcissistic asshole as Urban.
Hey Nick: Pot, meet kettle. Kettle; pot.
Also, how long until Jimbo takes aTm down the toilet? That's his mo; recruit, good team, then leave the cupboard bare and then just leave.....
April 14th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^
Sorry Nick. The party is over.
....but he still has good ole Pete to party with....
Hahahaha!
Or how about purple face grinding on recruits?
this GIF should be outlawed
Two questions come to my mind whenever I see that gif:
1. what song is Nick singing?
2. why is he grinding on Gollum from Lord of the Rings?
April 14th, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
I get the sentiment around Saban being a cheater, but another way to look at this is that he has been the best at taking advantage of what the system has to offer (since the NCAA historically has done little to curb bag payments).
I take this as more of a warning than anything; Nick Saban and the Alabama program are more than equipped to, as he puts it, "buy players" with the best of them. If the mess that is NIL right now is not streamlined into some sort of orderly system, Nick is going to do what he has historically done and be the best at this mess.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^
So what you're saying is, Nick Saban, who's been buying players for decades, is threatening that NIL will force him to. . . buy players.
Okay.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
He has more experience at being better than anyone else at it before. What suggests to you that he won't be the best at it in the NIL era, as well?
April 14th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
I agree with you ronick, not to mention if you get get $1million to play at texas or $1 million to win a title at Bama, where are you going?
$1 million to play at Michigan.
"Satellite camps for southern players in southern locales should be for southern schools only."
"NIL shouldnt happen lets keep the same selective few schools playing players."
If you are pro Saban on this one you havent been paying attention. Those of you saying he will dominate a pay for play system REALLY arent paying attention. Are you saying you prefer the system where 85% plus schools arent allowed to compete with him?
April 14th, 2022 at 12:42 PM ^
Because he has competition now. Look at what TAMU did this past cycle. Being the best in the black market is not the same as being the best in the open market.
Yep, and that's probably why he's disgruntled.
Totally unrelated note, the folks most upset with the repeal of Prohibition were the bootleggers.
April 14th, 2022 at 10:50 PM ^
Best analogy I've heard in a long time. WELL DONE.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
He isn't complaining. This is a threat. He will buy players from rosters, and not just recruits. Imagine if Saban was recruiting Donovan Edwards or Andrel Anthony right off our roster.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:35 AM ^
What, you mean like Texas and Xavier Worthy?
Hard to threaten someone with the status quo.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
His problem is that now everyone's doing what he does...pretty simple
April 14th, 2022 at 11:34 AM ^
This. The NCAA has had no problem with money laundering, tampering, or anything else football programs have been doing. It's unsustainable for him, but no one cares.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
So, both Dabo and Saban hate NIL, eh? I like NIL more every day...
April 14th, 2022 at 11:38 AM ^
This may be a hot take, but I agree with him? No doubt Saban has dropped a bag and bent a few rules in his day, but his program sells itself. He really doesn't need to pay the most to win recruits when he's running the best NFL factory in the country. The actual spirit of NIL is as he says. The kids with the most clout (whether as an elite player on the field or with a large social following off it) should and now do have an opportunity to make some money without forfeiting their eligibility. That's a massive improvement over the sham of amateurism that had the Fab Five wistfully looking into MDen windows at their jerseys selling like hotcakes while they scrape together pizza money like any other college student.
Unfortunately, the rules are neither uniform nor enforced, so pay-for-play "collectives" can operate the way Texas A&M has without much fear of scrutiny/punishment. If this just becomes the new normal in perpetuity, I do think it threatens the charm of college football. I've got no qualms with the kids getting paid, but it's really not as interesting from a fan perspective if most Power 5 recruits are just going to the highest bidding "collective" representing a certain school and potentially transferring for a better offer next year.
April 14th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
I more-or-less agree. Watching A&M almost openly buy a national championship would be bad for the sport. I realize that CFB is (of course!) not a level playing field now, but it runs the risk of being even more flagrantly being dominated by cheaters. I also agree that the new status quo threatens the charm of the sport. I can't blame a guy for going to the school that offers him the most money, but it diminishes the magic of college football when you know that a player's allegiance to a school was almost entirely dependent on it being the highest bidder.
My hope with the current status quo is that it will be so obviously dirty and unfair that it leads to a massive overhaul of the way that major college sports are run. We need to figure out a way for the Michigans and Stanfords of the world to direct money to players more than they can now without that being a rules violation.
"...even more flagrantly being dominated by cheaters." ... "...will be so obviously dirty and unfair ..." ... "...without that being a rules violation."
How cute! You think there are still rules in place regarding paying players to play! LOL!!!
Whatever words the NCAA says about 'pay for play' will go the way of the same words the NCAA said about bag money before NIL. Like the Dodo, they will fly off a cliff. I mean, Arkansas is on record for actually paying its players a few years ago. Kansas is on court records for actually paying players, and for not offering enough to Zion Williamson. LSU is on record for making a strong-ass offer to players, anyone want to bet on punishment for that? Also, LSU is on record for outbidding a lot of other programs for Cam Newton's services.
If the NCAA cannot - or will not - punish programs, coaches, players, for violating clear payment rules prior to NIL, there is no way in hell they'll try punishing anyone in the wild west era of NIL.
The only thing holding back programs like Michigan and Stanford are those programs' inability to modernize outdated mindsets.
Despite all of that, I agree that it will utterly destroy the past charm of college sports. Until the NCAA grows a pair and creates a ruleset that can be both followed and enforced, college sports will continue to decline in the many ways that people fear.
Yes, there are still rules. And Michigan, Stanford, Northwestern, etc. more-or-less follow them. And that is part of what holds them back. The system needs a significant overhaul for the sake of both players and non-cheating schools alike.
Watching A&M almost openly buy a national championship would be bad for the sport.
You think we didn't just see that very thing with UGa this year??
April 14th, 2022 at 12:13 PM ^
I don't disgaree, and actually felt like the point he made about NIL in conjunction with a free transfer all changing at the same time, was spot on. What boggles my mind is how the NCAA can made those two radical changes, yet they can't seem to open up the playoff field, which in my opinion would be a bigger threat to a level playing field than NIL.
April 14th, 2022 at 12:53 PM ^
I disagree. The reason he has build his school into an institution recruits want to go to is because he first laid the ground work of getting elite players. After getting elite players, he hired smart coordinators who were able to put talented athletes in a position to succeed. Only after getting elite players and winning, probably through bagmen, did he then become a destination school. If there is a small relative talent gap, he can and has been outcoached.
FACTS
Alabama has always been a destination school. Nick Saban was already a national championship winning coach. It seems you're hung up on your own personal certainty that all of his early recruits must have been lured to Tuscaloosa exclusively for shady reasons. Even so, I can't imagine acting like the man who's led his program to a 176-19 record after his first season (and 6 national championships) is just a lucky cheater.