Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who earned nearly $11 million in his final season as head coach of the Crimson Tide, testified before a Senate hearing Tuesday morning on the state of athletes’ earning power in collegiate athletics. However, one phrase in particular struck out among his complaints. Saban told lawmakers that his wife, Terry Saban, hinted to him before his retirement that modern college football players are just concerned with money.
“Why are we doing this?” the coach recalls Terry addressing him, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. Saban departed from Alabama on January 10, nine days after the Crimson Tide fell 27-20 to Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Since then, the iconic coach has claimed a variety of things, including age and player empowerment, as reasons for leaving.
Alabama finished 12-2 in Saban’s final season, losing only to Michigan and another College Football Playoff qualifier, Texas. Saban testified at the Senate hearing on Tuesday alongside Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, TCU basketball player Haley Cavinder, ex-Miami basketball player Hanna Cavinder, and others.
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