Nick Saban has some thoughts on Ohio State’s NIL-fueled roster.
“You guys keep talking about a $20 million roster,” the former Alabama coach turned analyst said on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning. “If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be s–t out of luck.”
The candid moment prompted a burst of laughter from the panel.
“Congratulations — you just broke the internet,” Kirk Herbstreit told Saban, who was making his debut as a full-time member of the “GameDay” team.
The $20 million figure comes from OSU athletic director Ross Bjork, who estimated that to be the amount the football team’s roster cost in an interview with Yahoo Sports this summer.
That reflects both the amount of talent recruited by coach Ryan Day and the institutional response to losing to Michigan three years in a row — a span over which the Buckeyes have made the College Football Playoff just once and failed to win a game.
The move to a 12-team playoff makes it far more likely that the Buckeyes will be in the bracket this season, but the heat will be on if they fail to win The Game for a fourth straight time out of five with Day helming the program.
At least on paper, though, it certainly appears Ohio State is paying the right people.
Wideout Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive end Jack Sawyer and cornerback Denzel Burke are among the stars who chose to return for another season rather than jumping to the NFL.
Ohio State also brought in a new quarterback, Will Howard, and star safety Caleb Downs in the transfer portal, among others.
On top of that, they had the fifth-ranked recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports, with receiver Jeremiah Smith being the headline name.
Ohio State opens its season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at home against Akron.