Nick Saban discusses loop holes of NIL & the can of worms now open

[Blue & Gold]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nick-saban-says-texas-am-bought-every-player-on-their-team-jackson-state-paid-a-guy-1-m-050808940.html

 

Excellent, thought-provoking video.

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

Awwww... Nick is upset that it's legal to do what he's been (presumably) doing illegally for years and now the playing field is leveling out. 

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Awwww... Nick is upset that it's legal to do what he's been (presumably) doing illegally for years and now the playing field is leveling out. 

I don’t care for Nick Saban, but he’s right in saying that if something isn’t done about NIL it will get out of control. NIL isn’t going to hurt a program like Alabama who has more than enough money to throw around if they choose to do so. NIL is going to create a further divide in the “haves” and “have nots.”
 

As far as the team recruiting rankings go, you could flip a coin (if it had 3 sides) and be correct on who had the top recruiting class in 2022. All 3 classes for TAMU, Bama, and UGA are loaded with talent and there really isn’t much difference between them. 

[zippy5]

Poor Nick! I hope he can make it through this.

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

I don’t care for Nick Saban, but he’s right in saying that if something isn’t done about NIL it will get out of control. NIL isn’t going to hurt a program like Alabama who has more than enough money to throw around if they choose to do so. NIL is going to create a further divide in the “haves” and “have nots.”
 

As far as the team recruiting rankings go, you could flip a coin (if it had 3 sides) and be correct on who had the top recruiting class in 2022. All 3 classes for TAMU, Bama, and UGA are loaded with talent and there really isn’t much difference between them. 

 

Nick should keep his mouth shut, along with 70-80% of P5 coaches. The NCAA neglected to investigate the underground NIL market P5 schools have been participating in for years, and it got out of control (hence why there are only a couple teams capable of competing for the National Title year in and year out). 

 

I'm sorry Nicky didn't get the top recruits that Jackson State got or that TAMU "bought". Not sure how he'll survive. 

[GP1]

Boo f-ing hoo Nick.

 

These players are adults. There are NHL and NBA players making millions at the ages of 18 and 19 and nobody says poo.

 

If college players make stupid decisions with their money, they should be free to do so. It's a free country. 

 

College football isn't being destroyed by nil and the transfer portal. In fact one could easily argue college football had one of the best seasons if not the best season ever last year. More teams are better and games are more exciting. Blue bloods worry about non blue bloods showing up to their country club in a pair of cargo shorts and a $10 golf shirt from Target, and winning the club championship. That's what Nick is whining about. 

[94zipgrad]

 

[catdaddyp]

20 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Nick should keep his mouth shut, along with 70-80% of P5 coaches. The NCAA neglected to investigate the underground NIL market P5 schools have been participating in for years, and it got out of control (hence why there are only a couple teams capable of competing for the National Title year in and year out). 

 

I'm sorry Nicky didn't get the top recruits that Jackson State got or that TAMU "bought". Not sure how he'll survive. 

I didn’t take it as him complaining. More along the lines of something needs to happen before NIL spirals out of control. I remember he said something similar last year when NIL was officially announced. 
 

Im not sure why so many people think this is going to hurt Saban or Bama. Like you implied, cheating has been going on for a long time. In fact, there is published material about how Tennessee football used to send “beautiful women” down to high school games and take the recruits out for a “night of their life.” Other schools would lay thousands of dollars in cash on the beds in the recruits hotel rooms during visits. 
 

Saban has adjusted to everything thrown at him at the college level and continues to come out ahead. Is it ethical? Probably not, but he’ll adjust like he always has. Plus he has millions of dollars backing him at Alabama. 
 

NIL hasn’t evened the playing field. For the most part, the schools with the most money are the same schools that have been doing well in football. That divide is just going to increase.
 

As far as TAMU being #1 in recruiting, Jimbo has managed to underperform almost every year, so I’m not sure if NIL will push TAMU over the hump. When talent level is close to even, coaching always takes precedence. I don’t see that changing.

Edited May 19, 2022 by catdaddyp

[Let'sGoZips94]

35 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

I didn’t take it as him complaining. More along the lines of something needs to happen before NIL spirals out of control. I remember he said something similar last year when NIL was officially announced. 
 

Im not sure why so many people think this is going to hurt Saban or Bama. Like you implied, cheating has been going on for a long time. In fact, there is published material about how Tennessee football used to send “beautiful women” down to high school games and take the recruits out for a “night of their life.” Other schools would lay thousands of dollars in cash on the beds in the recruits hotel rooms during visits. 
 

Saban has adjusted to everything thrown at him at the college level and continues to come out ahead. Is it ethical? Probably not, but he’ll adjust like he always has. Plus he has millions of dollars backing him at Alabama. 
 

NIL hasn’t evened the playing field. For the most part, the schools with the most money are the same schools that have been doing well in football. That divide is just going to increase.
 

As far as TAMU being #1 in recruiting, Jimbo has managed to underperform almost every year, so I’m not sure if NIL will push TAMU over the hump. When talent level is close to even, coaching always takes precedence. I don’t see that changing.

 

Nick isn't going to comment on something that doesn't affect his program. Is Bama the reigning National Champ? No? Then Nick has to do something to fix whatever is closing the gap on his dynasty. Bama was already losing their 4* depth to other program because of the open Transfer Portal, now they have to share the top level recruits with TAMU and Jackson State thanks to NIL. 

 

Jimbo had one of the greatest couple year runs at FSU before fleeing to avoid any NCAA investigation. When he can buy talent, he can win, and that scares old Nicky Poo. 

 

NIL and Transfer Portal are absolutely leveling the playing field. 

[catdaddyp]

21 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Nick isn't going to comment on something that doesn't affect his program. Is Bama the reigning National Champ? No? Then Nick has to do something to fix whatever is closing the gap on his dynasty. Bama was already losing their 4* depth to other program because of the open Transfer Portal, now they have to share the top level recruits with TAMU and Jackson State thanks to NIL. 

 

Jimbo had one of the greatest couple year runs at FSU before fleeing to avoid any NCAA investigation. When he can buy talent, he can win, and that scares old Nicky Poo. 

 

NIL and Transfer Portal are absolutely leveling the playing field. 

I guess we’ll have to disagree on some of those points. 
 

Travis Hunter is who Saban was referring to that chose JSU. He was choosing between FSU and JSU btw. Not Alabama or TAMU. 
 

I’m aware of what Jimbo did the ACC. He’s had a more difficult path in SEC. Saban has been pretty candid during his time at Alabama. I didn’t see that interview as fearful, but we can share different perspectives.

 

Im not sure how the portal or NIL has evened the playing field amongst the top teams. Are you saying that because Alabama finished 2nd in recruiting in 2022 and is a year off from missing the national championship that things are now evened out? Has NIL helped G5 schools catch up to Power 5 schools? Nowhere have I seen the playing field leveled. The best teams are still the best teams.

 

And again I want to stress I’m not a Nick Saban fan.

[kreed5120]

NIL definitely negatively impacts Alabama. While Alabama definitely has their fair share of boosters a school like Texas A&M or Texas has a larger and wealthier alumni base

[Blue & Gold]

I'm opened to having my opinion changed, but I'm against NIL for competitive balance.

 

I'm all for the free market, but in a closed system/zero sum game (especial regarding sports as entertainment) you want competitive balance.  NFL & NBA have salary caps so that small market teams (G5's & ~90% of P5's) can compete with the large market teams (~top 10% of P5's).  This makes for a better product (NBA, NFL).

 

I know, I know, I could have added 20 caveats to the post above. But that's my concern in a nutshell.  There's not much competitive balance as is, but now I think there will be even less.

 

P.s.  As an aside, college athletes are supposed to be amateurs. They're already receiving a free education worth thousands upon thousands of $$$. Plus the athletes get a number of plush perks regular students don't.  

 

[clarkwgriswold]

They're all a bunch of hypocrites.  Add to the mix that the NCAA is incompetent and ill-prepared to deal with the NIL stuff (despite the writing being on the wall for years) and you end up with a damn mess.  The P5s and larger programs will eventually split off to their own rule structure.

Edited May 19, 2022 by clarkwgriswold

[catdaddyp]

14 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

NIL definitely negatively impacts Alabama. While Alabama definitely has their fair share of boosters a school like Texas A&M or Texas has a larger and wealthier alumni base

Alabama isn’t far enough off from TAMU in regards to wealthiest football programs to make a big enough difference when it comes to NIL. Plus both get the SEC kickbacks every year. Saban admitted to not playing the NIL game much in this recruiting class. So when Alabama starts to do the same thing TAMU did this year, how does that give TAMU an advantage? 

 

In the end, when there is fairly equal talent on the rosters, it all comes down to coaching. Both Texas and Texas A&M have plenty of talent on their rosters already, but have underperformed in recent years. That’s coaching and not something NIL is going to fix.

[AkronAlumnus]

NIL turns college sports into amateur or JV sports - the JV always played on Saturday anyway. Ha!  I think NIL's impact on college bball is far greater than fb but it's ruining both imo

[kreed5120]

19 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

Alabama isn’t far enough off from TAMU in regards to wealthiest football programs to make a big enough difference when it comes to NIL. Plus both get the SEC kickbacks every year. Saban admitted to not playing the NIL game much in this recruiting class. So when Alabama starts to do the same thing TAMU did this year, how does that give TAMU an advantage? 

 

In the end, when there is fairly equal talent on the rosters, it all comes down to coaching. Both Texas and Texas A&M have plenty of talent on their rosters already, but have underperformed in recent years. That’s coaching and not something NIL is going to fix.

There is no dispute that coaching is important. I'd say really only Clemson and Ohio State have had anywhere near the talent Alabama has had over the last 5 or so years. Texas A&M actually received the most booster donations over the last 2-3 years. They have more money than you think. Texas Longhorn boosters have already endowed a fund to pay each offensive linemen, regardless of starter or backup, 50k per year. Alabama boosters certainly have money, but they don't have big Texas oil money. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by kreed5120

[catdaddyp]

1 minute ago, kreed5120 said:

There is no dispute that coaching is important. I'd say really only Clemson and Ohio State have had anywhere near the talent Alabama has had over the last 5 or so years. Texas A&M actually received the most booster donations over the last 2-3 years. They have more money than you think. Texas Longhorn boosters have already endowed a fund to pay each offensive linemen, regardless of starter or backup, 50k per year. Alabama boosters certainly has money, but they don't have big Texas oil money. 

I’m familiar with TAMU as my brother-in-law attended TAMU, works in the oil industry, and still attends all their games. I’m not saying that as a trump, but just to let you know I’m familiar with their status. They’ve always had plenty of money. 
 

It seems this thread has turned into the meaning of “leveling the playing field” as in regards to Alabama. Alabama doesn’t always land the top rated recruiting class, but certainly gets more than their fair share. TAMU perennially lands high recruiting classes as well. There is only so much separation between the top classes and players, but Saban has routinely brought out the best in his. UGA, for once, had the more dominant team this past year and that had nothing to do with NIL. There will be years where Alabama is not the top dawg regardless of NIL. 
 

The teams we are discussing have always been the “haves” and will continue to be that way. NIL isn’t helping level the playing field with the “have nots” vs the “haves.” Alabama hasn’t even played the NIL game the same as others and they still landed the #2 recruiting class. To think others will routinely beat them out for major prospects due to NIL -once Alabama joins the party - doesn’t line up.

 

We can differ in opinion, but until I see anything proven different, things won’t change at Alabama until Saban steps down. NIL or not. 

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

I’m familiar with TAMU as my brother-in-law attended TAMU, works in the oil industry, and still attends all their games. I’m not saying that as a trump, but just to let you know I’m familiar with their status. They’ve always had plenty of money. 
 

It seems this thread has turned into the meaning of “leveling the playing field” as in regards to Alabama. Alabama doesn’t always land the top rated recruiting class, but certainly gets more than their fair share. TAMU perennially lands high recruiting classes as well. There is only so much separation between the top classes and players, but Saban has routinely brought out the best in his. UGA, for once, had the more dominant team this past year and that had nothing to do with NIL. There will be years where Alabama is not the top dawg regardless of NIL. 
 

The teams we are discussing have always been the “haves” and will continue to be that way. NIL isn’t helping level the playing field with the “have nots” vs the “haves.” Alabama hasn’t even played the NIL game the same as others and they still landed the #2 recruiting class. To think others will routinely beat them out for major prospects due to NIL -once Alabama joins the party - doesn’t line up.

 

We can differ in opinion, but until I see anything proven different, things won’t change at Alabama until Saban steps down. NIL or not. 

I wasn't arguing that it would level the playing field. It might slightly change who is near and at the top. NIL is still relatively new and many schools and boosters haven't gotten too deep in it yet. It will take time for it to play out on which schools will have the largest war chests and which ones won't. By then Saban will be long retired

[clarkwgriswold]

1 hour ago, AkronAlumnus said:

NIL turns college sports into amateur or JV sports - the JV always played on Saturday anyway. Ha!  I think NIL's impact on college bball is far greater than fb but it's ruining both imo

Yep, and the P5 will be the triple A minors and the rest will be boiled down to through the equivalent of a single  A rookie league. 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Yep, and the P5 will be the triple A minors and the rest will be boiled down to through the equivalent of a single  A rookie league. 

isn't that's how it is now?

[Blue & Gold]

😂

 

[zippy5]

8 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said:

NIL turns college sports into amateur or JV sports - the JV always played on Saturday anyway. Ha!  I think NIL's impact on college bball is far greater than fb but it's ruining both imo

Players getting paid turns this into amateur sports? Interesting take

[AkronAlumnus]

8 hours ago, zippy5 said:

Players getting paid turns this into amateur sports? Interesting take

That and free agency (i.e. transfer portal)

[LZIp]

57 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

That and free agency (i.e. transfer portal)

I think you mean professional.

[catdaddyp]

https://www.on3.com/news/alabama-crimson-tide-football-texas-am-aggies-steve-spurrier-comments-on-nick-saban-jimbo-fisher-debacle/
 

I miss Spurrier coaching college football.