FROM THE OUTSIDE, what happened a year ago this week looked like a bruised ego lashing out. Alabama coach Nick Saban couldn’t abide not having the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, so he took aim at No. 1 Texas A&M, claiming it “bought every player” via name, image and likeness deals.
Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher was so incensed by his former boss’ comments that he called a news conference for the following day. He said, among other things, that Saban was a “narcissist” who should have been slapped.
Opposing coaches said while Fisher made it unnecessarily personal, it was Saban who started the war of words by crossing a line and singling out Texas A&M.
“Nick lost on the field,” said one SEC head coach, referring to Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M during the regular season. It was the first time Saban had ever been defeated by a former assistant. “But worse than that, he’d lost some recruits he doesn’t normally lose.”
But it also didn’t add up that an 8-4 Texas A&M team with an outdated offense could sign all those four- and five-star prospects, said the SEC coach. “One thing changed,” he said, referring to the NCAA’s decision in June 2021 to allow players to profit from their name, image and likeness for the first time. While perhaps not its intended purpose, NIL has shifted the dynamics of recruiting more than at any point in college sports history.
And it turns out that even a juggernaut like Alabama — which has dominated recruiting since Saban arrived in 2007 — was caught unprepared.
If you want to understand why Saban said what he did last May, start there. Sources close to the program say it was never about Texas A&M or Jimbo Fisher. It was all about Alabama.
It was about the people in the room that night — at an event in Birmingham promoting the World Games of all things. Media access was supposed to be limited for a “fireside chat” featuring Saban and Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats. Neither coach took questions from reporters. Cameras should have been shut off by the time Saban launched into a 7-minute diatribe on NIL.
Only no one enforced the rules and everyone got to hear Saban’s unvarnished talking points, which he’d only shared privately before.
“It was a challenge to those that were in the crowd that night, mostly consisting of deep-pocketed Bama boosters in what was a relatively intimate event,” said former Tide QB Greg McElroy. “It was a shot in the arm like, ‘Hey, man. I know you’ve really enjoyed the championships that we’ve brought home in the last 12-13 years. And if you want us to continue to compete, you better get the checkbook out.'”
For the longest time, those same boosters had poured money into the athletic department. But now that wasn’t enough. To stay at the top, Saban needed them to embrace NIL and start spending.
“That was Coach’s call to action,” McElroy said. “He’s saying, ‘Guess what? The world is changing, and we better get ready.'”
FANS WHO CAME to Tuscaloosa for the spring A-Day scrimmage last month were able to visit The Authentic. Located inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the shop is a first-of-its kind partnership with Fanatics where people can purchase player-branded NIL merchandise.
To the left of the main register is an assortment of player-specific items. A crimson short-sleeve shirt with the last name and number for cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, safety Malachi Moore, outside linebacker Dallas Turner and others. A few yards away a framed photo of wideout Ja’Corey Brooks sells for $199.
A portion of sales goes to the players.
None of this existed a year ago. The Authentic wasn’t announced until July. It didn’t open until Oct. 8 — which just so happened to be the day Alabama hosted Texas A&M in football.
High Tide Traditions was Alabama’s primary collective when Saban and Fisher got into it last year. It was barely a month old, trying to raise awareness and money. As one source described the situation: “Everyone was scrambling.”
The school’s NIL offerings were lagging behind other top programs in the country because of the athletic department’s cautious approach to future legislation and sustainability, as well as boosters’ contentedness with the status quo.
“The Tennessees, the USCs, the A&Ms, the Texases, the Miamis, they’re desperate fanbases that are willing to throw their money away at [NIL],” a source familiar with Alabama’s NIL fundraising said. “If all of the sudden they won six national championships, I guarantee you those donors would tell them, ‘Find someone else.'”
The result was a recruiting powerhouse that was loosening its grip — ever so slightly, but enough to make a difference.
It’s a reality Saban has acknowledged in private. At a booster gathering last month, he addressed NIL. High Tide Traditions had dissolved in February and was replaced by Yea Alabama, which Saban publicly endorsed. Boosters in attendance were given pamphlets on the new collective, showing how they could get involved. Saban told the crowd they were still playing catch-up. But, he said, they were closing the gap fast.
For proof, look no further than the newcomers who took the field at A-Day, including members of a freshman class that ranked No. 1 nationally, according to ESPN. Saban and his staff signed a record eight top-25 prospects. Four of those eight signees — offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, defensive back Caleb Downs, running back Justice Haynes and defensive tackle James Smith — participated in a meet-and-greet at The Authentic in February.
Haynes was the star of the open scrimmage with three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving). This summer, he’ll be joined by the No. 1-ranked running back in the class in Richard Young.
Also featured for the first time were transfers Trezman Marshall from Georgia, who had four tackles, and tight end CJ Dippre from Maryland, who caught one pass.
Without a more aggressive NIL approach, are all of those players in Tuscaloosa? Maybe not. A source connected to the program said Alabama lost out on signing a star receiver in the transfer market a year earlier because it was unwilling (or unable) to get into a bidding war.
In the weeks after A-Day, Alabama added to its quarterback room by signing former Notre Dame starter Tyler Buchner. And it created some much needed depth in its secondary by bringing in Trey Amos from Louisiana and Jaylen Key from UAB.
Saban was asked in December about how NIL played a role in the team’s 2023 signing class, which featured four more ESPN 300 players than the year before.
“It did have an impact on recruiting with some players,” he said.
He paused and then shrugged.
“I don’t know how you make comments about a crazy situation right now,” he said.
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Saban likes what he sees so far from new Alabama OC
Nick Saban says he and his players are very pleased thus far with new Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees after the first spring scrimmage.
FROM THE BEGINNING, Saban has been up front about his reservations regarding NIL. While he has repeatedly said he’s in favor of players making money, he has also expressed concerns about how it might become the end-all, be-all in recruiting, creating a “pay for play” model.
That night in Birmingham, Saban told the audience what recruits were asking him: “Well, what am I going to get?” He said prospects in the state who grew up wanting to go to Alabama wouldn’t commit if the Tide could not match another school’s offer.
While the Tide could coast on reputation for a while — internally, the consensus was they wouldn’t experience a significant dip for another one or two recruiting classes — it was clear the old way of doing things was over. And it wasn’t just Texas A&M setting the pace. Saban also brought up Jackson State and Miami for reportedly paying exorbitant amounts for players. He didn’t mince words when he said, “I know that we’re going to lose recruits because somebody else is going to be willing to pay them more.”
“He had a structure. He had a system. He was nailing college football,” one SEC coach said. “Why would you want something new? Just like he didn’t want the new-age offenses around, he didn’t want NIL.”
Right or wrong, another source said, “The anger and frustration was that there were other people out there not playing by the rules.” Specifically, Saban has brought up the notion that NIL isn’t supposed to be used to “entice” a player to a certain school. But that’s an awfully fine line that no program has been publicly accused of crossing by the NCAA.
Former staff members recalled a similar situation when Saban underestimated the impact of the early signing period when it began for the 2018 class. Saban was frustrated by Alabama’s lackluster sixth-place finish in the recruiting rankings that year, but he adjusted and the next year the Crimson Tide were No. 1 again.
Just like his public opposition to up-tempo offenses a decade ago — he famously asked if this was what we wanted football to be? — it’s a mistake to interpret his comments as coming from a place of fear. After losing to the more advanced offenses of Ole Miss, Auburn and Texas A&M, Saban went out and hired former USC coach Lane Kiffin after the 2013 season to bring the spread and up-tempo to Tuscaloosa. The result was national championships and a string of pro quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young.
Even if he starts a half-beat behind sometimes, Saban has proved he can catch up and often get ahead of the curve. As a former assistant explained, “He’s not afraid of change.”
Making things easier was the NCAA’s revised guidance on NIL in October, which included this key point: “Institutions may direct donor funds to collectives when fundraising, but they may not specify which student-athlete or sport these funds should be directed to.”
In January, Alabama announced another landmark deal, this time with multimedia rights giant Learfield. The pair planned to create an “epicenter of support for name, image and likeness” right next-door to The Authentic, providing players resources like a dedicated staff, meeting space and even a studio.
The Fanatics and Learfield deals, along with others, put Alabama on solid footing. Athletic director Greg Byrne recently told the Sports Business Journal, “We have tried to be slow and steady from an NIL standpoint. We have tried to not have a whole lot of shock and awe.”
DON’T BE SURPRISED if Alabama still gets outbid on occasion.
Just because the school has more money to commit to NIL now than it did before doesn’t mean it has the most. Its donor base is still relatively modest compared to larger, more well-funded alumni bases like Texas A&M’s.
“Miami, Texas, Oregon,” said one Power 5 head coach. “They have more money than Alabama’s donors do.”
A leader of a Power 5 collective in the South said Saban’s original vision for NIL made sense. Essentially, Saban wanted every player to earn the same amount — a base salary of sorts — and from there they could earn more in the marketplace based on performance and exposure. The problem, according to the leader of the Power 5 collective, is that the base salary was too small for some higher-end recruits and Alabama was getting outbid by two and three times.
Sources say that’s changed and Alabama has become more competitive thanks to better NIL funding. Which in turn has allowed Saban to make up the difference by pitching the national reach of the program — read: lucrative marketing opportunities — and the ability to compete for national championships.
Saban then uses another three-letter acronym to reinforce Alabama’s value: NFL.
His pitch to recruits, according to multiple sources, is simple yet effective: Do you want to make an extra $30,000 in NIL somewhere else or do you want to come here and make an extra $30 million by going to the NFL?
Alabama has produced more than 40 first-round picks since Saban arrived in 2007. Its creative team is fond of trotting out graphics with the total amount of money earned by players in the NFL since that time. The latest tally: $1.94 billion.
Saban says playing for national championships and developing for the next level should trump upfront NIL money. He can look no further than Texas A&M’s highly touted classes of 2021 and 2022, which have seen 15 departures following a 5-7 season with just two wins in SEC play last season, for evidence that winning matters.
But to be in the conversation with top prospects, NIL money has to be competitive. In the beginning, Alabama was too far apart from other schools. Now, according to sources, Alabama is close enough in NIL for the rest of Saban’s pitch to matter.
Complacency will always be a concern. A program insider pointed to Florida’s downfall after Urban Meyer — how the program relied on its reputation for too long, didn’t invest properly in facilities and fell behind.
But the difference is that Saban is still at Alabama. And he still clearly has a sense of urgency when it comes to staying ahead of the competition.
Losing to Texas A&M stung. Losing to the Aggies in recruiting was something he couldn’t stomach.
The result was a messy back-and-forth the SEC brass surely wishes never happened. But from Alabama’s perspective, it might have been the wake-up call boosters needed.
Saban and the Tide might have been a step slow when it came to the NIL arms race, but they’ve caught up in a hurry.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — A blunder that typifies the current state of the New York Yankees, who find themselves in the midst of their second six-game losing streak in three weeks, happened in front of 41,401 fans at Citi Field on Saturday, and almost nobody noticed.
The Yankees were jogging off the field after securing the third out of the fourth inning of their 12-6 loss to the Mets when shortstop Anthony Volpe, as is standard for teams across baseball at the end of innings, threw the ball to right fielder Aaron Judge as he crossed into the infield from right field.
Only Judge wasn’t looking, and the ball nailed him in the head, knocking his sunglasses off and leaving a small cut near his right eye. The wound required a bandage to stop the bleeding, but Judge stayed in the game.
“Confusion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I didn’t know what happened initially. [It just] felt like something happened. Of course I was a little concerned.”
Avoiding an injury to the best player in baseball was on the Yankees’ very short list of positives in another sloppy, draining defeat to their crosstown rivals. With the loss, the Yankees, who held a three-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings entering June 30, find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place three games behind the Blue Jays heading into Sunday’s Subway Series finale.
The nosedive has been fueled by messy defense and a depleted pitching staff that has encountered a wall.
“It’s been a terrible week,” said Boone, who before the game announced starter Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
For the second straight day, the Mets capitalized on mistakes and cracked timely home runs. After slugging three homers in Friday’s series opener, the Mets hit three more Saturday — a grand slam in the first inning from Brandon Nimmo to take a 4-0 lead and two home runs from Pete Alonso to widen the gap.
Nimmo’s blast — his second grand slam in four days — came after Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez misplayed a ball hit by the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning. On Friday, he misread Nimmo’s line drive and watched it sail over his head for a double. On Saturday, he was slow to react to Starling Marte’s flyball in the left-center field gap and braked without catching or stopping it, allowing Marte to advance to second for a double. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon then walked two batters to load the bases for Nimmo, who yanked a mistake, a 1-2 slider over the wall.
“That slider probably needs to be down,” said Rodon, who allowed seven runs (six earned) over five innings. “A lot of misses today and they punished them.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s throwing woes at third base — a position the Yankees have asked him to play to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base — continued in the second inning when he fielded Tyrone Taylor’s groundball and sailed a toss over first baseman Cody Bellinger’s head. Taylor was given second base and scored moments later on Marte’s RBI single.
The Yankees were charged with their second error in the Mets’ four-run seventh inning when center fielder Trent Grisham charged Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle and had it bounce off the heel of his glove.
The mistake allowed a run to score from second base without a throw, extending the Mets lead back to three runs after the Yankees had chipped their deficit, and allowed a heads-up Lindor to advance to second base. Lindor later scored on Alonso’s second home run, a three-run blast off left-hander Jayvien Sandridge in the pitcher’s major league debut.
“Just got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s fundamentals. Making a routine play, routine. It’s just the little things. That’s what it kind of comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road.”
This six-game losing skid has looked very different from the Yankees’ first. That rough patch, consisting of losses to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, was propelled by offensive troubles. The Yankees scored six runs in the six games and gave up just 16. This time, run prevention is the issue; the Yankees have scored 34 runs and surrendered 54 in four games against the Blue Jays in Toronto and two in Queens.
“The offense is starting to swing the bat, put some runs on the board,” Boone said. “The pitching, which has kind of carried us a lot this season, has really, really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as I think we should.
“So, look, when you live it and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts. But you got to be able to handle it. You got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to weather it and come out of this and grow.”
Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.
Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”
After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.
In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”
In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.
“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”
A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.
Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.
Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.
The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.
For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.
Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.