Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has been an outspoken opponent of the NCAA’s new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules since they were released last year.
Swinney sat down with ESPN’s Chris Low to discuss a litany of topics ahead of his 15th season as head coach of the Tigers — including the effect NIL is having on the changing college football landscape.
In doing so, the 52-year-old program leader released a controversial take.
Swinney’s comments were sparked by this question from Low:
“Do you understand when people say, ‘Well, coaches like Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban are making in the $10 million range, why shouldn’t the athletes be able to profit even before they get on campus?’”
“Well, Nick Saban is 70 years old. I’m 52 years old. None of us set markets on what we do. We live in a capitalist society. The head of Delta probably makes a lot more than the people who are checking your baggage in, but those people are as vital as anybody. None of us set markets on what we do. It’s a free market we live in, in anything. It’s just that our jobs are so visible and so public. I can tell you this: None of us got into coaching to make money, but I don’t apologize for being successful,” Swinney responded.
Dabo Swinney: College athletes shouldn’t be allowed to earn money in a free market
Also Dabo Swinney: pic.twitter.com/aMl2Uhd1vs
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) April 9, 2022
In 2019, Swinney signed a 10-year, $93 million contract with the Clemson program. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is set to average $10.6 million per year through the 2028 season.
When asked if he felt he and his fellow head coaching colleagues are overpaid, Swinney doubled down on his take.
He even suggested that Saban is “probably underpaid.”
“That’s always going to be a question that’s out there because we have such a visible job, but I’d say Nick Saban has had a pretty big impact on the University of Alabama, not just the football program. I’d say he’s had a pretty big impact on Tuscaloosa. He’s probably underpaid, to be honest with you,” Swinney added.
Swinney is well aware that these comments will draw criticism from fans and analysts around the college football world.
“It doesn’t matter what I say. I’m going to get criticized,” he said. “I’m way past that. I’ve been doing this a long time.”
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