Here’s why Nick Saban and Notre Dame’s Pete Bevacqua are wrong about NIL ruining college football Former coach Nick Saban and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua expressed concerns to Congress that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals are creating a pay-for-play system and a bidding war for recruits, potentially turning college football into a “super league” like the NFL. However, the article argues that elite programs have historically dominated college football for decades, long before NIL, and that NIL may actually provide smaller schools with a quicker path to competitiveness.

• Nick Saban and Pete Bevacqua believe NIL is turning college football into a pay-for-play system and a “super league” dominated by wealthy schools.
• The article contends that elite programs have always dominated college football, citing a long history of national champions from a limited number of schools.
• NIL is argued to be a potential equalizer, offering smaller programs a more direct route to competing nationally, rather than solely benefiting wealthy ‘blue blood’ programs.
• The historical dominance of certain teams suggests that the current concerns about NIL may be romanticizing a past that was already unequal.