Column: Tone deaf Nick Saban calls out USC football

The Alabama coach called out USC during the SEC spring meetings

Alabama head coach Nick Saban wants to see college football become more like the NFL, at least if the paying of players continues.

Saban is unhappy with how the current NIL rules — or lack thereof — are set up in college football, he said during the SEC spring meetings in Florida on Tuesday. 

Saban made the point that if players are getting paid, college football might as well take a page out of the NFL's book and adopt some of the league's policies in regards to paying players fairly. 

“If that’s what you want, unionize it,” he said at the podium. “Make it like the NFL.”

So how does USC fit into all of this? 

Saban brought up the Trojans while making his point about how the current NIL climate hasn't created the parity some thought it might.

“You think (parity) is here?” he questioned. “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?”

Basically, Saban accused USC of spending so much NIL money, it's given the program an unfair advantage over other schools, like Alabama.

That's rich. 

While USC has multiple collectives, the NIL money raised so far for Trojan athletes dwarfs what collectives at schools like Tennessee and Texas A&M in the SEC and Miami in the ACC have provided for their athletes. 

Alabama is also deep in the NIL game, which makes Saban's statement hypocritical. The Crimson Tide collective High Tide Traditions is one of the top collectives in college athletics, according to On3.com.

"Yes, Alabama was late to the NIL party, but it’s quickly catching up and making moves to pull ahead," On3.com's Jeremy Crabtree wrote in a story about the country's "most ambitious" collectives.

Saban has a point about college football and the NCAA needing to change player compensation rules and it's a good one. But accusing USC, Texas and Texas A&M of doing something wrong when Alabama's doing the exact same thing?

That's tone deaf.