On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville was asked about the NIL roundtable hosted by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) attended by Nick Saban and Greg Byrne.
Tuberville (R-Auburn) and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (R-WV) teamed up on their own legislation in 2023 to begin addressing the regulatory challenges posed by by Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and its emerging impact on college athletics.
Tuberville said Saban has taken part in those conversations about creating a uniform code governing NIL — but Democrats will not sign on unless unionization is included.
“I know Nick has told people that NIL was a big reason for his retirement. A couple of years ago the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes can get paid. I support college athletes making money but the system we have now is a complete mess,” Tuberville said.
“It’s the wild west, there are no nationwide rules, every state does different things, it makes for an unleveled playing field, plus it puts a lot of people in harm’s way in terms of being pushed from behind the scenes with agents, lawyers, accountants,” Sen. Tuberville said. “If we don’t fix this, we could ruin college sports.”
“I wanna make sure these kids actually get an education — what a thought, right?”
Tuberville emphasized that he is in favor of college players making money, but a national standard and regulation is critical to preserve college athletics.
During the roundtable on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Saban echoed the sentiment that he is pro-NIL, but that it is not being used as it was intended and has instead become a pay-for-play system.
“I want their quality of life to be good. Name, image, and likeness is a great opportunity for them to create a brand for themselves. I’m not against that at all. But to come up with some kind of a system that still can help the development of young people I think is paramount to the future of college athletics,” Saban said.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
