Hypocrisy?: Nick Saban Shades Aggies, Longhorns Over Spending

For some reason, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has a problem with the way the Aggies are spending their money.

Matt Galatzan | May 31, 2023

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Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies are arguably one of the most well-funded programs in college athletics. But particularly in college football, where the program has spent as much or more than almost any program in the nation on recruiting.

In fact, in 2022 alone, the Aggies had a whopping $2.98 million recruiting budget - the second most in the country behind only the Georgia Bulldogs.

And now, one of the faces of college football is taking notice, with Alabama head coach Nick Saban taking a subtle jab at the Aggies, alongside USC and Texas A&M, and how much money the programs have been spending in recent months.

“You think there’s disparity in college football right now? There’ll be a lot more in the future … I think the way Southern Cal, Texas and Texas A&M are spending money … it hasn’t hit yet. What are you willing to spend?

In one sense, Saban isn't wrong. The amount of money being poured into football programs via NIL and other revenue streams has reached an all-time high, with the Aggies, Trojans and Horns among the biggest spenders.

However, Saban is also being a tad hypocritical here as well. The Crimson Tide program is recognized as one of the biggest spenders in the nation, spending $2.32 million of their own on recruiting in 2022 alone.

Not to mention, the Tide's NIL collective - High Tide Traditions - is one of the largest in the country.

In other words, Saban's message, while not inaccurate, rings a bit hollow. Especially coming from the head of one of the largest spending programs in the country.

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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Published May 31, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.