When Mercedes-Benz opened their first major plant outside their native Germany in Tuscaloosa back in ‘13 they promptly associated themselves with the Crimson Tide’s Nick Saban. He was part of some campaigning and events for the conglomerate, but it all started with a prank call… or so Dream Motor Group’s Joe Agresti worried. “I thought one of my buddies left me a bullsh-t prank Saban thing,” he now reminisced, but the reality was that just within a few weeks of coming in contact with Saban, they scheduled a meeting which lasted four hours, and when they exited the doors, the deal was on!

As per a report from Forbes, today, their Dream Motor Group sells as many as 20,000 Mercedes-Benzes a year. Add in a couple of hundred Infinitis and Ferraris to their sales wins across dealerships in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida, and one can understand how their annual revenues are closing in on $2 billion. “It’s one of the best decisions I ever made. It’s been really good for both of us,” Saban said about their partnership, and he isn’t wrong here. Agresti and Saban joining hands has been such a success that the former is a billionaire, with a net worth of $1.1 billion. And Saban, who is a minority partner in several of the ventures, is on the right track to becoming a billionaire too, per the article. If that takes place in the future, he would be the first college football coach to hit the billionaire mark.

As of 2025, Saban’s net worth sits at $80 million. This is a big achievement, considering his humble beginnings when his parents owned and operated a gas station in West Virginia. Nick Saban would help his parents in their business, but did you know his father once almost fired him? Back then, a young Saban’s girlfriend had broken up with him, which left him in a foul mood. A customer noticed this and complained to Saban’s father, pointing out how he wasn’t friendly. Taking the criticism seriously, Saban’s father told him to cut out the attitude: A lesson that stuck with him and has been helping him in his businesses.

But how has all this success been possible with the car dealership? “Coach and I get deals left and right because of our connections,” Agresti revealed in March after he spent an entire morning negotiating an important deal to extend in a sixth state. “Right now we’re at our all-time biggest—all our chips are on the table.” In 2014, both stepped in and took over a Mercedes-Benz dealership, expanded in Nashville by 2017, and in Birmingham by 2018, and soon, they caught momentum. But could all this hustling help any sports team?

Absolutely! They have some future plans in the works; One of which may not please Bama fans. Since going from strength to strength and establishing their work, the company has onboarded a third owner. That would be ex-Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon. The trio is now seeking to take their acumen and financial prosperity to the sports realm. Per the Forbes article, Joe Agresti said he, Nick Saban, and Steve Cannon are eyeing investments in “three or four” sports teams in Tennessee.

Although Agresti remained tight-lipped on which ones, it doesn’t rule out the Tennessee Volunteers football program. Conceded, this is somewhat far-fetched and pure speculation. But we do know how close-knit those SEC circles are. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that the Vols brass and Saban have discussed something at some juncture.

Those with a rooting interest in Alabama will surely hope that’s not the case. Conversely, Vol fans and Josh Heupel probably won’t mind getting help from the former coach of their biggest rival! Either way, whatever team or teams Saban attaches himself to, he’s good. Ironically, the Vols’ scenario wouldn’t be the first time Nick Saban has helped an SEC contemporary of Bama.

Nick Saban has been more candid with other SEC programs post-retirement

In a twisted turn of events, Nick Saban may have slipped up and helped the Georgia Bulldogs on the NIL front: The program that ended Alabama’s dynastic run with two National Championships. Nick Saban and Georgia state senator Brandon Beach attended a dinner gala before the beginning of the 2024 season, and naturally, a conversation between the pair digressed into College Football. The Dawgs, in particular.

Beach asked Saban how he could, from a legislator’s capacity, help Kirby Smart be more successful than he’s already been. Saban, being Coach Smart’s mentor figure through his ascension from a defensive coordinator to head coach, did give some shrewd advice. So shrewd that it didn’t just flick a light bulb in the senator’s mind. It’s now an official bill.“If you want to do one thing to help Kirby with recruiting is to eliminate the state income tax on the NIL deals,” said Nick Saban. This was relayed by Beach to reporter Daniel Libit.

This wasn’t really a Eureka moment, but notable. With NIL and soon revenue sharing after the House Settlement, student-athletes have to pay taxes on what they make. Each state has its own different taxation rules. This means a player could make more or less from the same deal depending on their school.

Georgia currently taxes players at 5.39%. If this went down to 0%, they’ll have another advantage in pulling recruits. Mind you, this is a school that regularly ranks in the top 3 for recruitment across the country. Nick Saban essentially helped prosper an already prosperous nemesis. Alas, his own ascension through the tax bracket as he approaches billionaire status will help him sleep easily, regardless!