Scott Van Pelt: Money ‘is the only thing that any recruit is asking about now’

Few issues have dominated sports talk in recent years more than Name, Image and Likeness in college sports. On Tuesday, former Alabama coach Nick Saban was on Capitol Hill speaking about NIL and revenue sharing in college athletics.

Part of his comments caught the attention of Scott Van Pelt, who added his thoughts on Tuesday night’s SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt.

After playing part of Saban’s comments, Van Pelt weighed in.

“Naturally, the reaction to Saban’s comments, on social media, was measured. ‘Oh, so you get to care about money and they don’t?’ I get the point. But keep in mind that this man is the all-time winningest coach in the sport in terms of titles. So that’s why he gets paid all the dough. It’s fantastic that players get to make money now. But every single coach, in every single revenue sport, if you’re paying attention, is saying the same thing. ‘This is the only thing that any recruit is asking about now when they come on visits.'”

Scott Van Pelt weighs in on Nick Saban's NIL comments.

"It's fantastic that players get to make money now. But every single coach, in every single revenue sport, if you're paying attention, is saying the same thing. This is the only thing that any recruit is asking about now." pic.twitter.com/VVn471us7c

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 13, 2024

Van Pelt continued, noting that he’s not a fan of a system where money is the primary focus of college athletes.

“And I don’t believe that it’s pearl-clutching to wonder if maybe that’s not ideal. Maybe, something about the school and your development there as a human being oughta count as part of your process and you’re line of thinking because overwhelmingly these athletes are gonna have to find a job, which isn’t football, when they leave. Sure, get your money. But there’s more to it. At least there’s supposed to be. Right?”

[Photo Credit: ESPN]