Nick Saban has been an excellent addition to ESPN’s “College GameDay,” offering in-depth and digestible film analysis, well-prepared insight into teams around the country and a sense of humor that may surprise some – culminating in Saturday’s back-and-forth with the show. celebrity guest picker” from Tuscaloosa, his wife Terry.

But he has a lot of work to do on what’s actually happening with the economics of college football, which is disappointing because he should be a major voice on player compensation and movement. On Saturday he was an insincere voice, painting a picture of the past that is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who follows the sport and longs for a future that amounts to regression.

The panel got into a conversation about the big story of the past week: UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka’s announcement that he is done for the season after failing to meet promised financial obligations. Sluka’s agent told ESPN that he was “verbally” promised at least $100,000 and Sluka’s father, Bob, told The AthleticsDavid Ubben says the negotiations took place in February – and the family didn’t ask for more during UNLV’s 3-0 start to becoming a College Football Playoff contender.

That has been disputed, and the absolute truth about this story is unlikely. Rece Davis, host of “College GameDay,” aptly said of the situation, “If the promise is made, let’s not sway (whoever made it) either. That’s despicable, that’s sloppy, to try to get a child like that.”

Unfortunately, Saban was eager to intervene.

But what value has that young man ultimately created for himself by making this decision? Saban said. “To be put in this situation and then make this decision. What real value is he creating for his future by doing this? And that’s the unfortunate thing about all of this.”

“Yes, the pursuit of short-term money, which affects their future,” Kirk Herbstreit added.

So let’s try to answer that question regardless of what exactly happened with Sluka and UNLV. If he was promised this money and didn’t get it, he wasn’t trying to “create value” for himself; he was understandably frustrated at being wronged despite the fact that he had shown value. If his camp is lying about the promise, that’s clearly wrong of them – but if he only received $3,000 for his work at UNLV, which is not disputed, that’s ridiculous and unacceptable in today’s market.

While the market is hazy, we know enough about it to know that a quarterback of Sluka’s quality joining an FBS program – with millions of dollars on the line as a viable candidate for the 12-team Playoff – should have five digits in the list. bank before completing a pass.

So if I understand correctly: pay for play starts with NIL. According to the former Alabama coach who had many great players over the years who were all okay with tuition, room, food, books, etc.

— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) September 28, 2024

The answer to Saban’s question is that Sluka has already created value by graduating from Holy Cross, by shining there and earning a chance to play at the next level, and then by excelling at that level. This means he should and will get another college opportunity next season, and he should get market value for it.

It’s almost as if Saban thinks everyone is an NFL prospect — Sluka probably not — or as if having millions of dollars makes it difficult to understand what $100,000 can do for the life of a young person who isn’t destined for millions.

It’s disappointing. Because Saban should bring a lot of value to this discussion and has made other points that resonate.

He has said he quit coaching in part because his players’ discussion after last season ended in the CFB semifinals was all about money, and I believe him. He’s right that getting through tough times when things aren’t going well for a player can be an advantage. He is right about the great value of having a university and a program as a home base, with lasting connections long after playing.

He would have been better off on Saturday talking about the dynamics of locker rooms in this era, rather than advocating for a future that involves a combination of revenue sharing — which is of course court-mandated and unavoidable — and a ‘real NIL’ based solely on marketing opportunities.

This also remains an apparent NCAA fantasy, although the richest programs in college football will continue to pursue the best players so they can win and benefit from it. Which will always create a market that extends beyond the mandatory compensation. Which is not new.

It’s just that a lot more money going to players, coupled with constant player movement, means that some form of players organizing and signing standardized contracts should be next. As with any major change, there will be unintended consequences, but it is necessary and unavoidable. I’d like to see Saban embrace that reality and talk about how that will affect his previous profession.

Instead, he said this: “We made a money play because we have donor-raised funds to pay people. So that system does not create value for players in the long term. I mean you need to go to college to create value for your future. Now we have guys deciding how much money they’re going to make. I’m not sure that’s what we want the college experience to be.”

Was he seriously suggesting that we will now “use donor money to pay people?” Is he seriously claiming that such funds haven’t been raised in the past by the very wealthiest programs to pay the very best prospects and help those programs win and make a profit? After decades of thinly veiled – and in some cases reported and sanctioned by the NCAA – bidding wars for some of those players leading up to signing days, is he really saying that guys are only now making decisions based on money?

Anyone who cares about college football should be offended by that. Just as Saban probably was when he saw the man who helped run his Alabama recruiting operation from 2007 to 2009, Jeremy Pruitt, cheat at Tennessee in such a brazen, sloppy way that his coaching career disappeared over it in 2021.

No one cares anymore now that we’ve taken the mask of amateurism off college football. Furthermore, no one expects coaches to write a comprehensive book on where the bags of cash were hidden.

But we can have more honest, less dishonest conversations about the past, present and future. Saban talks a lot about “value,” and he knows it well: Forbes estimated he made $150 million in his coaching career. He should not devalue what a free market can and should mean for the workforce of an industry like college football.

And he should whisper one of the greatest Sabanisms of all time – “Don’t waste failure” – to himself before bringing up the subject again in front of millions of viewers.

(Photo: Ken Ruinard/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)