In March, Nick Saban sat at the Capitol Hill Roundtable and expressed his reservations about the NIL rules. The Name, Image, and Likeness deals have been a game changer for college sports, giving players a lot more power than before. During the congressional roundtable, the legendary Alabama coach, recalled his wife telling him that players only cared about how much they were going earn and nothing else.

The growing influence of NIL was one of the reasons why Saban, who won seven national championships, left college football in January.  Incidentally, it was Nick Saban, who was at the end of a shocking ordeal once according to former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp.

Talking about an incident that came to his knowledge, Sapp revealed how a college player demanded nearly a million dollars from Saban at Alabama.

The NIL deals are starting to change the way recruitment works in college football. The focus of young recruits is shifting from athletic development to how much they can make in NIL earnings. The players are beginning to hold a lot more pull than ever before and it has left college coaches

After hearing about the ‘blackmailing’ incident, even former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp was left perplexed. “Two stories I heard this past off season that really, like, drove the point home that the rabbit has got the gun now. They said a kid walked in Nick’s Saban’s office, sat down and looked at him and say, ‘I need $900,000, and you got 48 hours.’ Are you kidding me?”

Sapp was shocked when he came to know about this and the astonishment was clear in his voice and expressions. Sapp added, “Can you imagine walking in the head coach’s office, tell him you gonna give me almost a million dollars, and you got 48 hours. That’s crazy!” While Sapp didn’t mention who the player was and when the incident occurred, if you recall what happened last year in January with Saban, we may get an idea.

On January 26, Saban attended the ALFCA (Alabama Football Coaches Association) Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, where he reportedly told fellow coaches about the two players’ extravagant requests and his decision to let them go.

“Someone with one of the best corners in the nation (in high school) came to me and asked if we’d pay them $800,000 for the player to sign here. I told him he can find another place to play. I’m not paying a kid a bunch of NIL money before he earns it.” Saban said, according to a report in OutKick.

“One of them wanted $500,000 and for us to get his girlfriend into law school at Alabama and pay for it. I showed him the door,” Saban reportedly said. The former coach’s reluctance for massive NIL deals was also seen during his congressional address, however, he did encourage a more balanced model.

Saban mentioned that college football isn’t the same anymore

Following the Crimson Tide’s loss in January’s College Football Playoff, Saban announced his decision to step down as the program’s HC. His decision was driven by the NIL’s increasing power and what it meant for the college players.

“All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics. It was always about developing players, it was always about helping people be more successful in life,” Saban said on Capitol Hill.

However, he did call for a more balanced system for revenue sharing.

“If we had some sort of revenue sharing proposition that did not make student-athletes employees … I think that may be the long-term solution. You could create a better quality of life for student-athletes, you could still emphasize development, you can still create brand and athletic development with a system like that.”

We have seen how the NIL offer could sway the power of recruitment towards a particular program. Lately, the Miami Hurricanes have been hot in their pursuit of Bryce Underwood, the nation’s top high school quarterback. Underwood is an LSU commit and is set to earn between $4-$5 million. However, the Hurricanes have reportedly tabled an NIL offer of around $5 million in order to get him in their ranks.

So, this is how the college football landscape is shaping now and it will continue to throw up more such instances in the near future.

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