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Fisher vs Saban

No, Saban was lying when he said Alabama was a clean program.
Texas A&M has been super dirty back to the days when every year its boosters would pay large numbers of top recruits, many of whom (like Eric Dickerson) would take the money/car and then sign elsewhere. I don't think Bama has ever been as dirty as A&M. Aggie boosters being what they have been for at least the past 50 years, I assume that if Jimbo got a National #1 class, a huge amount of money was spent on making recruits feel loved.
 
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Texas A&M has been super dirty back to the days when every year its boosters would pay large numbers of top recruits, many of whom (like Eric Dickerson) would take the money/car and then sign elsewhere. I don't think Bama has ever been as dirty as A&M. Aggie boosters being what they have been for at least the past 50 years, I assume that if Jimbo got a National #1 class, a huge amount of money was spent on making recruits feel loved.
That's fine, but Saban doesn't need to talk shit when he knows he's dirty too. You know glass house, black kettles and stuff. I'm just glad someone finally called him on his shit. I guess Saban's dick finally ran out of space to ride.

Saban's issue isn't that A&M bought players. His issue is that he knows there isn't as much money in Alabama. There is finally a real threat for him
 
I know what Sabans angle is. The NIL is not being used as intended. It was intended for players to make some coin by exactly that.....value of their name, image, and likeness. But with no guardrails the system has been turned upside down. Now you have these "collectives" where the fan bases contribute money into a pot to be distributed. And that has little to do with NIL. But legal. So here is where college football is going. The schools with the richest supporters, and I doubt their is a school in the country with a fan base as rich as A&M, will soon be the elite division of college football. Everyone else will just be fodder needed to fill the schedule.
 
I know what Sabans angle is. The NIL is not being used as intended. It was intended for players to make some coin by exactly that.....value of their name, image, and likeness. But with no guardrails the system has been turned upside down. Now you have these "collectives" where the fan bases contribute money into a pot to be distributed. And that has little to do with NIL. But legal. So here is where college football is going. The schools with the richest supporters, and I doubt their is a school in the country with a fan base as rich as A&M, will soon be the elite division of college football. Everyone else will just be fodder needed to fill the schedule.
I agree with most of this. My only disagreements would be that you said it was his angle. His angle is to try to get more money so he can do it too. Also, college football has already been going this way, with schools like Alabama paying players under the table. They just have more competition now.
 
I know what Sabans angle is. The NIL is not being used as intended. It was intended for players to make some coin by exactly that.....value of their name, image, and likeness. But with no guardrails the system has been turned upside down. Now you have these "collectives" where the fan bases contribute money into a pot to be distributed. And that has little to do with NIL. But legal. So here is where college football is going. The schools with the richest supporters, and I doubt their is a school in the country with a fan base as rich as A&M, will soon be the elite division of college football. Everyone else will just be fodder needed to fill the schedule.
I think cfb was how you described it already. Players were already getting paid the most to go to SEC schools. And A&M already had top-5 recruiting classes almost every yr.

A&M might be the richest but there is still plenty money at Bama for them to keep hauling top-few classes.

Where I think the NIL stuff hurts the most is transfer portal. Schools that get lucky developing a 3* or low 4* are going to lose those players because of $. Like Jordan Addison at Pitt. A guy like Myles Murphy might be good example, he's worth a little bit now at UNC, but I bet he was getting some pretty decent offers to go somewhere like a Mizzou. With another yr of expected improvement he could fetch a bunch of money if doesn't go pro early.
 
Saban: "A&M bought every player on their team -- made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn't buy one player."

Fisher: "It's amazing. Some people think they're God. Go dig into how 'God' did his deal. You may find out about a lot of things you don't want to know, ...We build him up to be the czar of football, ...Go dig into his past or anybody that's ever coached with him. You can find out anything you want to find out, what he does and how he does it. It's despicable; it really is."

Spurrier as Special Guest Referee: "Did Saban say something that wasn't true? ...I don't think Saban told any lies in there, so I don't know what [Fisher] was mad about, ...Since [Fisher] beat him last year, I guess he can talk now. He hasn't beat much of anybody, but he beat Saban last year. But they haven't won the division or anything since he's been there."

I don't know much about Jimbo, but the fact that he has Saban and Spurrier stomping on him in the corner at the turnbuckle makes him "turn face" in my book.
 
I know what Sabans angle is. The NIL is not being used as intended. It was intended for players to make some coin by exactly that.....value of their name, image, and likeness. But with no guardrails the system has been turned upside down. Now you have these "collectives" where the fan bases contribute money into a pot to be distributed. And that has little to do with NIL. But legal. So here is where college football is going. The schools with the richest supporters, and I doubt their is a school in the country with a fan base as rich as A&M, will soon be the elite division of college football. Everyone else will just be fodder needed to fill the schedule.
NIL wasn't 'intended' for anything, it just is. It's born of the contention over whether a player has a right to money made from his name, image, and likeness or whether the school/NCAA should control those to their own benefit. Since it's been decided that the players control their own NIL, there's no prohibition against players giving control over to the school in order to allow the school to arrange financial benefit to the player in exchange for the player's commitment and continued performance. It's a business deal, no more and no less. Does it really matter where that money comes from? The only stipulation is that money paid to players can NOT come directly from the schools, that so the facade of amateurism can still manage to hang on by a thread. Maybe it sucks, but at least finally the hypocrisy of the so-called student-athlete is coming to an end.

Players have been legally paid for a very long time, in the form of an education and possible degree. Now that is still not being recognized and appreciated, but the fact that players are basically 'hired' to play major college sports is. It doesn't have to ruin college sports but it probably will, due to the usual wrongheadedness inherent in our legal system.

But the reality, IMO, isn't that the richest schools will get the best players; the best players will attract money from sponsors wherever they go. Second tier players might be a bigger problem. Either way, I believe that NIL will work out to leveling the playing field if schools are smart about how they participate and play the game.

Saban is a sanctimonious asshole. I saw that when his player was just as deep into the sports agent muck as our own Marvin Austin was, yet he had a bunch of mouth to say about us while hypocritically still preaching his 'right way' bullshit. I don't think Saban has any room to decide for all others how NIL is supposed to be handled, but I got the feeling back when we were getting the hammer and he wasn't, that he had a guardian NCAA angel. I hope that angel gets his wings clipped so we can find out how 'right' the right way is at Alabama.
 
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