This is an opinion piece.
Nick Saban once said, “It’s not about being better than someone else. It’s about being the best that you can be.”
Classic Saban.
I’ve been away from Alabama for a bit and missed some headline-worthy events—like Saban playing second fiddle to Donald Trump at a University of Alabama event. Yes, my alma mater featured a Trump commencement speech, and Saban opened for him.
Saban joked, “I feel like I’m the warm-up band for The Rolling Stones.”
Honestly, picturing the Stones at UA these days is laughable. Imagine the school lawyers trying to vet that playlist—“Brown Sugar”? “Paint it Black”? Probably too much for modern DEI sensitivities. “Gimme Shelter” might get flagged as too woke, but maybe “Sympathy for the Devil” would still slide in—kind of like the Confederate flag in some circles.
At the ceremony, Saban did what he always does—delivered short, disciplined life advice:
“You got to earn it. Have accountability for what your job is.”
“It’s not about being better than someone else. It’s about being the best that you can be.”
Solid enough advice—but hearing it, I couldn’t help thinking of The Sphinx, the cryptic character from the cult film Mystery Men, who says stuff like, “He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.”
Eventually, even the movie’s protagonist snaps: “Am I the only one who finds these sayings a little too…formulaic?”
That’s kind of how Saban’s words landed this time—predictable and polished, but not particularly illuminating in such a politically loaded setting.
As for Saban being there at all, well, people have opinions. His political leanings have long been a source of speculation, and discussing them in an Alabama bar could easily end in a fistfight in the gravel lot. Still, I don’t think this appearance was about politics.
What it was about is a little clearer now: what exactly is Saban doing to earn that $41,666.67 monthly paycheck from the University of Alabama in retirement?
Apparently, when the university calls, he shows up—and smiles. That’s the gig.
Critics might scoff at the $41K monthly check, but in the grand scheme of Saban’s empire—Aflac ads, ESPN work, Mercedes endorsements—it’s a drop in the bucket. The man might be on track to be college football’s first billionaire, in a state with barely one to its name.
Even so, the figure sticks in my craw a bit. My kid points out Auburn paid Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin a combined $36.75 million just to not coach anymore.
To put it in perspective: if you made Saban’s $41K per month, you’d need 75 years to earn what Auburn paid those guys to walk away—longer than the average Alabama man’s life span.
Because once your business is money, money becomes the business.
Roll Tide. War Eagle.
And as Saban said: “You got to earn it. Have accountability for what your job is.”
Even if that job’s kind of unclear.
