Nick Saban speaks on Alabama’s clean slate on ‘paying players’ before NIL

The sports media world loves to assume that every big-time program in college football compensated their high-value prospects with fiat cash.

You see it on ESPN all the time. The former players on the network even ascertain that top-notch universities have been paying players since long before the NIL (name, image and likeness) rule came to be.

Do those guys know something that the rest of us do not? Were they paid as student-athletes? They seem to have a lot of knowledge on the subject, but never elaborate on how they know.

Nick Saban found himself on the subject during practice for the Reese’s Senior Bowl in an interview with ESPN. Expounding on the ramifications that the NIL rule has had on the sport and recruiting, Saban went into detail about his reservations regarding the rule.

“When we start using name, image and likeness for a kid to come to our school, that’s where I draw the line,” he said, via ESPN. “Because that’s not why we did this.

“I hear these crazy people on TV who say now you’re doing it above board. We never did it. We never did it. We never cheated to get a player. We never paid players to come to our school.

“And now that’s actually happening. People are making deals with high school players to go to their school.”

This controversy isn’t likely to go away any time soon, but Saban was clear in asserting that Alabama hasn’t paid players to attend the Capstone during his tenure.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all things Crimson Tide.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Layne Gerbig on Twitter @LayneG_29.