Nick Saban takes NSFW shot at Ohio State, NIL war chests on College GameDay

He may be brand-new to this college football analyst gig, but Nick Saban already seems to be in midseason form with his fiery takes from the TV studio set. During Week 1's broadcast of ESPN's College GameDay live from College Station, Texas, Saban may have let slip an NSFW word while attempting to put Ohio State and its big-pocketed boosters in place. Only Saban could have said this.

Much has been made this offseason about Ohio State opening up the coffer and really getting into the NIL game. This coincided with a change of leadership at the helm of the athletic department with Ross Bjork taking over full-time for Gene Smith this summer after he retired. Ohio State landed marquee players like Caleb Downs, Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins in the transfer portal in 2024.

Saban's remark on Ohio State having all that money, but needing to pay the right guys is hysterical.

“You guys keep talking about a $20 million roster. If you don’t pay the right guys, you’re s**t out of luck.”

He may have let slip a swear word, but the guys on the studio set found it absolutely hilarious.

Let's unpack Saban's comments on Ohio State's NIL war chest, as well as his new gig with ESPN.

Nick Saban unleashes NSFW remark regarding Ohio State's NIL war chest

What you have to remember is that the wonderful world of NIL is only entering its fourth college football season. We are still trying to figure out what it really means. Yes, it is great for marquee players on any team of note really, to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses. Again, the three players of note who transferred to Ohio State all had relatively big brands coming in.

All three players had different reasons for coming to Ohio State. For Howard, he was being pushed by a talented backup quarterback at Kansas State in Avery Johnson. With one year of eligibility left, Howard decided to come play for a national power to help improve his NFL Draft stock. Ohio State needed a quarterback after Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse, so I have no issues with this at all.

When it comes to Downs, his former head coach, which happens to be Saban, retired from the coaching profession. Downs picked Ohio State over Georgia, in a bit of controversy, but again, he is an elite defensive back who wanted to play for an elite team. I don't have much problem with that either. As far as Judkins is concerned, maybe he saw a definite ceiling in Oxford with Ole Miss?

Ultimately, as long as college football is a major money-making enterprise, players will come and go from programs, just like the head coaches who lead them. We may need more guardrails on this in due time, but for now, we must make do with what it is. As for Saban on a college football studio set, he is in his bag, knowing that his legacy as the greatest head coach of all time remains impenetrable.

He will get better and better on camera in the coming weeks and months, so don't worry about him.