Ex-FSU QB Fires Back at Nick Saban Over NIL Advantage for Billionaire-Backed Big Ten Teams

It’s the heavyweight bout everyone in college football already watches without needing a bell to ring. The Big Ten vs. the SEC. For years, the SEC won the championship belt with Alabama, LSU, and Georgia piling up national trophies. But something different is happening lately. The B1G is landing knockouts. And the man pointing this out is none other than Nick Saban. 

When Saban joined The Pat McAfee Show, he didn’t mince words. “There is a rivalry between the Big Ten and the SEC. It can’t be denied,” he said. On September 5, former FSU QB Danny Kanell took to X to dissect the former Alabama HC’s comments. “So Saban is essentially admitting what we’ve all known. The SEC was getting all the best players because they were the ones paying,” he wrote. The jab landed squarely in the middle of a conversation sparked by the GOAT admitting NIL is giving the Big Ten a real edge. 

Nick Saban laid it out plainly. “Kids grew up wanting to go to LSU, Alabama, Georgia. Got the money now. They don’t mind going to Ohio State. They don’t mind going to other places,” he said. “So, that geographic advantage that the Southeast Conference may be changing a little bit now, with the different culture, with NIL and the money involved in decision-making. I think that’s created a bit of an edge for the Big Ten.” Those deep-pocketed Big Ten alumni just bought their way into living rooms the SEC used to own.

Pat McAfee couldn’t help but marvel. “I don’t think we all understood how much money the North has, the Big Ten has. Like, did we understand Penn State had money?” he said. “They needed $700 million to upgrade their stadium, and it was like four calls for the athletic director.” It’s not hyperbole. Penn State has generational donors with steel and finance money. And now, Oregon brings in Phil Knight’s Nike billions, turbocharging the league with a West Coast power that can outspend nearly anyone. And we already know how Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison was involved in flipping Bryce Underwood to Michigan from LSU. And then there are the big numbers. 

The Big Ten is richer than the SEC

The Big Ten hauled in $928 million in 2023–24, edging the SEC by nearly $90 million. Member schools took home between $61 and $63 million each, compared to about $52 million for SEC programs. That’s the kind of gap that funds more coaches, more recruiting staffers, and yes, fatter NIL packages. And that’s before Oregon and Washington even cash their first full Big Ten distribution. Oregon’s Nike-fueled NIL war chest could reshape the recruiting map as much as Michigan’s revival under Jim Harbaugh did. The Ducks already play the flashiest recruiting game in college football, and now they’ve got Big Ten backing to go with it.

Nick Saban admitted only Texas and Texas A&M have that kind of “old-fashioned money” in the SEC. “A lot of the schools in the Southeastern Conference don’t have that kind of old-time generational wealth,” he said. Everyone else is trying to stretch booster dollars against billionaires in the North. And now the NIL era is getting real. Starting in 2025, the House v. NCAA settlement allows schools to share up to $20.5 million annually with athletes on top of existing NIL collectives. For Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon, that’s rocket fuel on an already blazing fire.

Nick Saban has been clear. The rules need clarity, or the sport risks imbalance. Right now, the Big Ten has the back-to-back titles and the bigger bank accounts. And in Week 1, the B1G just flexed with Ohio State knocking off Texas. This weekend, Michigan travels to Norman to face Oklahoma, another SEC newcomer. It’s the ultimate test of whether money really buys rings or if the SEC still has enough pride to keep its belt.