In an attempt to seemingly make college football great again, Alabama Crimson Tide legend Nick Saban has reportedly recruited President Donald Trump into his crusade against NIL money in college athletics.
Name, image, and likeness collectives have completely changed roster building in college football. And one person who hated it from the start is former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. The 73-year-old has long been outspoken about the negatives of NIL money. And it played a key role in why he walked away from the sport a year ago.
Yet, despite no longer being a college football coach, his loathing for NIL money has not ceased. And it seems he has gone to the very top of the United States federal government to try to snuff out its massive influence on college sports.
“The Trump administration is considering an executive order that could increase scrutiny of the explosion in payments to college athletes since 2021. After the president met with former Alabama coach Nick Saban,” White House officials told the Wall Street Journal this week.
“Trump met with Saban on Thursday night when he was in Tuscaloosa to deliver the University of Alabama’s commencement address. Saban talked about ‘NIL’ deals with Trump. Telling the president how he believed the influx of money had damaged college sports.”
The sums college athletes are making from NIL collectives have started to hit shocking levels. Elite talents are making more in NIL money than they would as early-round picks in the NBA and NFL. It has turned the transfer portal into an amateur version of free agency in pro sports. And it’s led to speculation that the player payout for some college football programs in 2025 could surpass $30 million.
However, schools have made massive sums for decades off college athletes, with the compensation being a scholarship. NIL guidelines have already been litigated in the courts. And the recent “House vs. NCAA” settlement will soon lead to schools paying players directly. Specifically, $2.8 billion in the years ahead. It is unclear what Nick Saban hopes to gain from Trump’s involvement. Since Pandora’s box has been opened and it can’t be closed now.
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