Nick Saban is not happy with the way collectives are being used in college football at the moment.
A collective is defined as an organization formed to benefit student-athletes, usually at a specific institution, according to the Business of College Sports. Different schools have different collective models, but the premise of it is college alums coming together to create a unit, who seeks to provide NIL opportunities to student-athletes. The University of Alabama unveiled its collective, Yea Alabama, in February with the support of Saban.
The Alabama head coach was on Stephen A. Smith’s Know Mercy Podcast Wednesday, and he blamed coaches for the way collectives are used at the moment.
“It (NIL) was not supposed to be me going to give a speech to raise money from alumni, so we can get enough money in our collective, so we can pay players,” Saban said. “That is not what it was supposed to be. Who is to blame for that? Coaches. We did it.”
Smith went on to ask Saban why he blamed coaches.
“Because people did that, I am talking about institutions did that, to try and create an advantage,” Saban answered. “I am not saying there is anything wrong with it, relative to a rule or a law or whatever because every state has a different law, so it is not the same for everyone. So, now you got this, okay if you come to our school, you get this much.”
Saban has discussed his feelings about the issues with NIL through several different outlets as of late.
