Nick Saban is under the impression that one particular HBCU utilizes bagmen just like Power 5 schools have historically deployed to snag the best amateur football players in the country.
The Alabama head coach, in a lengthy rant about the ills of NIL, suggested Jackson State and Deion Sanders lured top recruit, Travis Hunter, to the school on the strength of a million-dollar NIL deal. He also claimed Texas A&M, which secured the top recruiting class in the country, “bought every player.”
“Jackson State paid a guy $1 million last year who was a really good Division I player to come to their school,” said Saban. “It was in the paper, and they bragged about it. No one did anything about it. These guys at Miami that are going to play basketball there for $400,000; it’s in the newspaper. The guy tells you how he’s doing it. But the NCAA can’t enforce their rules because it’s not against the law, and that’s an issue. That’s a problem. Unless we got something that protects them from litigation, I don’t know what we’re going to do about it.”
Coach Saban comes for Jackson State! Coach Prime I’m going to need you to clown Saban at the next Aflac commercial shoot. Leave HBCUs out of this Nick! 🤭 pic.twitter.com/u5BBSWfrZf
— SWAC BUZZ (@SwacBuzz) May 19, 2022
Sanders previously shot down speculation that Hunter only committed to Jackson State on the strength of a rumored seven-figure NIL deal with Barstool Sports.
Also read: Deion Sanders explains his pitch that led to Travis Hunter commitment
“That’s the biggest lie I ever heard,” he said after Hunter committed to Jackson State in December. “That means we kicked your butt, and we took what’s ours and you have to make up an excuse why. I wouldn’t pay my son a million and a half. How am I gonna coach a guy making more than me?”
To date, the only NIL deal Hunter has officially inked is with J5 Caffe, a Black-owned coffee company based in Mississippi.
Sanders, in response to Saban’s comments, said on Twitter that he will soon address “the lie coach Saban told.”
“You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow,” Sanders wrote, who co-starred in Aflac commercials with Saban last fall. “I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB ! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.”
