Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin thinks Nick Saban is underpaid.
Saban recently signed an eight year extension with the Crimson Tide worth $84.4 million, and the deal makes him the first college coach in history to average at least $10 million annually. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Despite the historic contract, his former offensive coordinator thinks the seven-time national champ is worth more money.
Nick Saban’s contract extension has been approved by Alabama trustees.
21-22: $9.5M
22-23: $9.9M
23-24: $10.3M
24-25: $10.7M
25-26: $11.1M
26-27: $10.7M
27-28: $11.1M
28-29: $11.5M8 years, $84.8M 💰
He’ll be the first NCAA coach to reach $10M in annual recurring compensation. pic.twitter.com/M6PzphQhIv
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 2, 2021
Kiffin said the following when asked by Dan Patrick how much money Saban is worth, according to the Clarion Ledger:
Way more than what he makes. I understand faculty and when people say, ‘OK, how does a guy like that make that much money when he’s just coaching football?’ But the money he brings into the program and the university. When a football program’s rolling, the university changes, student applications change, so tuition goes up. Everything changes. So as crazy as it is, kids around the country watch a football program doing well and say, ‘I want to go there.’ Even though they don’t play football.
You can listen to Kiffin’s full comments below.
“A little bit at times, especially when [Saban] announces that his back up quarterback from last year is getting a $1 million. That’s going to be a little hard to recruit against.”
–@Lane_Kiffin tells us it can be difficult recruiting against Saban and @AlabamaFTBL at times 😂 pic.twitter.com/t6Y7sjfHqG
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 3, 2021
As crazy as it sounds, I agree 100% with Lane Kiffin. Even with an $84.4 million deal, Nick Saban is worth a hell of a lot more money.
Alabama could pay him $20 million annually and it’d still be a bargain. Think about Alabama’s place in the world of college in 2021 and then compare it to 2005.
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Nobody saw Alabama as a school that attracted a ton of out of state students two decades ago. Kinds in New York, California and the midwest weren’t clamoring to go there. Now, 56.5% of the student body is from outside of Alabama. What kind of price do you want to put on that?
Think about all the money that has been brought in with 56.5% of the student body paying out of state tuition prices. Again, $20 million would be a bargain.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has signed an extension worth more than $84 million, and he’s worth every damn penny. pic.twitter.com/CPMuHvrcJu
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) August 4, 2021
Trust me when I say that Alabama is much better off right now than they were before Saban’s arrival and only a fool would agree.