Alabama coach Nick Saban singled out Texas A&M for “buying” its top-ranked signing class and threw a spotlight on the unintended effect of name, image and likeness rights on recruiting during an event with local business leaders Wednesday night in Birmingham.
“I mean, we were second in recruiting last year,” Saban told the audience. “A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player, all right? But I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”
Saban said Alabama players made $3 million “doing it the right way” last year and that only 25 players were able to leverage NIL opportunities.
Nick Saban says Texas A&M ‘bought’ its top-ranked signing class:https://t.co/Bu3E7X0NLl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 19, 2022
Nick Saban says Texas A&M bought every recruit on their team and Alabama didn’t buy any of theirs. Get your popcorn and head to the comments! pic.twitter.com/E4QoiDT5om
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 19, 2022