Nick Saban laments singling out Texas A&M and Jackson State, remains critical of NIL application

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban, while admitting he was wrong to «single out» Texas A&M and Jackson State in comments he made Wednesday concerning the implementation of name, image and likeness, told ESPN on Thursday he wasn't backing down on his stance that paying high school players under the guise of NIL could potentially ruin college sports.

«It's gotten completely out of control and not a sustainable model,» Saban said. «It's to the point where you've got these attorneys/agents calling collectives and saying, 'Pay my player a hundred thousand dollars a year,' and then they want their piece of that. They all want a cut.»

Saban said he reached out to both Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and Jackson State's Deion Sanders wanting to apologize for bringing their specific schools into the conversation.

«I should have been more specific when I said 'bought' in saying you can buy players now through name, image and likeness and never mentioned any specific school and just said across the sport,» Saban said. «That's on me. But other than that, I don't have any regrets over what I said Wednesday [at the World Games in Birmingham speaking event].»

Saban said he's not apologizing for speaking out and understands he's going to be criticized.

«A lot of people are silent on this, and some of it has been people lumping NIL in with using NIL to pay players to go to school,» Saban said. «But, you know, at this stage of my career, I'm not worried about what people think of me.»

Saban, 70, has continually adapted and evolved during his coaching career. He's never been a fan of up-tempo offenses, but retooled Alabama's offense several years ago to take advantage of the current rules on offense. He's also never completely embraced the transfer