One of the more talked about stories in the college football landscape over the last few years is how much money players are making through NIL. While some argue that players are getting their long-deserved compensation for constantly putting their bodies on the line for fans' entertainment, others have opined that NIL has reduced the competitive balance in the sport.
Recently, Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders proposed another way to incentivize players by having them get paid for both making and winning the college football playoff tournament.
“…Now it’s equality, now it’s even and every player is making the same amount of money,” said Sanders, per Eddie Pells of the Associated Press.
Sanders also said that “this game has gotten out of control. All the money. All the unpredictability.”
Nick Saban weighs in
Nick Saban was also in the interview by the Associated Press, and he spoke on how some have floated his name as a potential new commissioner for the sport.
“I don’t want to be in that briar patch of being a commissioner, but I do want to do everything I can to make it right,” he said.
“For years and years and years as coaches, and when we were players, we learned this, we’re trying to create value for our future,” Saban added. “That’s why we’re going to college. It’s not just to see how much money we can make while we’re in college. It’s, how does that impact your future as far as our ability to create value for ourselves?”
Saban also spoke on proposals that both the Big Ten and SEC get multiple automatic bids to the tournament.
“The NFC East has the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants, they have the biggest fan bases of anyone and they have to play their way in,” Saban said. “Everyone should play their way in. One year, a conference might get five teams in, another it might get three. But there’s no (scenario) in any competitive venue where you get a guaranteed playoff spot.”
Fans likely won't come to an agreement anytime soon on how best to allocate the many resources that college football has at its disposal.
