Nick Saban shared a pretty mind-blowing stat about Alabama Crimson Tide football players.
Saban spoke at a Team Focus charity event in Mobile, Ala. on Tuesday. He talked with reporters about the Name, Image and Likeness rules in college sports, and how some programs may be taking advantage of it.
Saban is trying to illustrate the point that players shouldn’t think just short-term about how much money they can make off NIL endorsement deals while in college. Rather, he thinks they should think long-term about how much they can make in the future from going to a premier program like Alabama, where they can develop.
“Somebody gave me a stat that our players have made $1.7 billion playing in the NFL since 2007,” Saban said, via AL.com.
$1.7 billion in total money since Saban has been Alabama’s coach. That’s quite a stat. John Calipari would be proud.
During Saban’s tenure as head coach, Alabama has had 106 players drafted by NFL teams, 39 in the first round. His program produced six first-round picks last year.
Like Saban says, the big money doesn’t come from making a few hundred thousand from NIL deals while in college, but from the big contracts in the pros. He still believes — rightfully so — that his program can help players reach that level better than other programs.
