Paying recruits just to visit campus? Alabama's Nick Saban weighs in on latest NIL trend
The takeover of name, image and likeness compensation on college football recruiting has now reached a point where recruits are asking to be paid just to visit a campus. That's according to Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who testified before a congressional committee that asks of $5,000 for a visit are commonplace, per the Columbus Dispatch.
INJURY UPDATE: Latest Deontae Lawson injury update from Nick Saban on Wednesday
That's news to Nick Saban, who said Wednesday that he's not personally aware of any such NIL demand by a prospect to visit Alabama. What's not surprising to Saban, however, is that NIL compensation, under the haphazard absence of uniform NCAA policy, has come to this.
"Name, image and likeness is not really name, image and likeness. I think we all understand what it's become, and what we allowed it to become," Saban said. "I said long ago, and got very criticized for (saying) 'Is this what we want college football to become'? So, it's becoming what it's becoming. And that's OK, we'll just adapt and do what we have to do to be able to compete, whatever the circumstances are. Do I think it would be judicious to have some guardrails on some things? I think you can figure that one out just as well as anybody else."
As NCAA policy has failed to provide control over NIL, foiled in part by varying state laws that undermine its efforts, the governing body of college sports has turned to Congress for a federal law. And while multiple bills have been proposed, consensus is unlikely at best.
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Paying recruits just to visit? Nick Saban weighs in on new NIL trend
