Washington, DC - On Monday, legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban addressed Congress about Name, Likeness, and Image (NIL) rights. The fans aren't happy with him, however, and here's why.

Coach Saban was joined by notable figures like Senator Ted Cruz, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, and college athletes Haley and Hanna Cavinder.

Together, they discussed the need to codify NIL rights for student-athletes.

During the discussion, Saban expressed concerns about the direction of college football, particularly regarding NIL collectives.

He argued that these collectives are disrupting the competitive balance within college football and hindering athletes' development on the field.

"All the things I believed in for all these years. 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics," Saban said, referring to the changes in player development in college football.

Saban (71) also claimed that NFL coaches have told him that players are entering the league with "more entitlement" and "less resiliency."

"It’s whoever wants to pay. The most money raised, the most money to buy the most players is going to have the best opportunity to win," he shared. "I don't think that's the spirit of college athletics."

"If we revenue shared a certain amount, it'd be the same [in each state.] That's the issue right now. We don’t have that," he added. "We have collectives in some states raising huge amounts of money and competing against those who don't have those kinds of funds to pay players."

Nick Saban isn't against NIL for athletes. Rather, he believes that the system needs a better structure.

Despite preaching against buying players, Saban has been called out for doing so previously.

Former Florida State defensive end Travis Johnson, who was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, revealed in May 2022 that Saban offered him six figures to play at Alabama.

Saban's recent remarks about "buying players" didn't sit well with fans, who reminded him of his own past actions.

"They evened the playing field. When Nick was the only one offering money and incentives to come play for him, recruiting was easy. Now it’s open season, and he had to get out," one fan wrote.

"Translation: now that every school can legally pay players, we don’t have the unfair advantage so I’m done," another added.

Johnson seemed to stand by his statement when reacting to a fan's statement concerning Saban's words. When a fan wrote, "Literally how it has ALWAYS been. Just had a different name, and the presence of consequences if caught," about Saban's "buying players" statement, Johnson agreed, saying "facts."

While fans across the nation seem to agree with Nick Saban's call for a better structure for NIL in college sports, they might prefer a different spokesperson when it comes to discussing the topic of "buying players."