Saban Offers Strong Thoughts On 'Anti-Development' NIL and Transfer Portal

Arguably the best college football coach to ever do it offered some strong thoughts on NIL and the transfer portal this week.

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College sports are in an obvious state of fluctuation and change, something that has been the case for multiple years now and likely is not going to change anytime soon.

From tampering to the transfer portal to Name, Image, and Likeness and all three being wrapped up in the same snowball of chaos, the nature of the way talent is acquired today has resulted in the disillusionment of some of the best coaches to ever do it. The greatest example of this - although he will likely never admit it directly - was the surprising retirement of now former Alabama head coach Nick Saban after last season, arguably the most successful coach in the history of college football.

Saban never made it a secret that he was not a fan of NIL and the transfer portal, but as he did so many times in his career, he adapted. Though he demonstrated he was still able to keep his team on top or at least close to it in the new era of college football, it was clearly wearing on him and as he's said before, making him believe less in all the things he loved about college sports. Since retiring and becoming a member of the media, Saban has spoke fairly openly - whether it be on television or to Congress - about the pitfalls of the pay-for-play system the game is undeniably currently in. This week, Saban spoke on how he's seen the game change over the last several years during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.

"We used to be on a team where the first thing you thought about is 'how does it affect the team?' And if you made a mistake, it killed you because you're letting your teammates down," Saban said. "I don't know if you can blame the players for this, but you can blame the system to some degree because it promotes this, everything about the system promotes this...the real bottom line of it all is everything is based off performance. So what kind of value are your creating for yourself if you're not committed to being the best player you can be? You're not creating value for yourself or your future...all these things are anti-development I call it which is not a good thing for college football."

Critics of Saban would argue that programs like Alabama had always been using financial incentive to lure talent even before it was out in the open and he doesn't like the leveled playing field now that everyone is able to do so. But now in retirement, Saban has no agenda to push to help himself win championships and is coming at the issue from a place of genuine care and concern that the sport he made an impact in for nearly five decades is not in a healthy place.

In order to get college sports into a place where not only are players able to make money off their hard work, but also a healthy system in which rules are clearly defined and set, it will take voices like Saban and so many others to aid, guide, and advise.