Saban shares views on NIL, transfer rule on Capitol Hill

Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban visited Capitol Hill Tuesday to share his views on the landscape of college football in the wake of the recent NIL and transfer portal rule changes.

Saban told members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that the new system contributed to his recent decision to retire.

“All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics,” Saban said. “It’s whoever wants to pay the most money, raise the most money, buy the most players is going to have the best opportunity to win. And I don’t think that’s the spirit of college athletics, and I don’t think it’s ever been the spirit of what we want college athletics to be.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, who oversaw the panel discussion, said there is a 50-50 chance of Congress passing legislation that would provide antitrust protection and regulation to college athletics in the U.S. by the end of the year.