Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban testified in support of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act in the Senate on Wednesday, issuing a stark warning to the chamber that, without serious change, the NCAA is like a car driving “150 miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon.”Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the Protect College Sports Act last week, marketing the bill as a bid to “restore order” to and “save college sports” by providing a regulatory framework to an NCAA rattled by litigation and disputes over its rules. The bill would roll out several regulations on the industry, including clarifications on player transfers and payments, rules on midseason coach movement, and a ban on professional players from reentering the NCAA.
In his testimony, Saban, the former Crimson Tide coach of 17 years and current ESPN announcer, described the exponentially rising roster costs at the University of Alabama and across the NCAA landscape.
“My first year we had, collectively at Alabama, $2.7 million,” Saban said. “Next year: $7 million. Next year: $10 million. I retired. Next year: $17 million. Next year: $24 million. Now you have schools that have close to $40 million rosters.
