Deion Sanders believes changes to college football prompted Nick Saban to retire from Alabama

Sanders claimed the changes "chased" Saban out of the sport

By Steven Taranto Jan 11, 2024 at 12:19 pm ET• 1 min read

College football was rocked to its core on Wednesday with the announcement that Nick Saban, the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, would retire after a career that has seen him win seven National Championships over the past two decades. And with Saban having just led the Crimson Tide to the Rose Bowl and yet another College Football Playoff appearance, the natural question is to what prompted the 72-year-old to step down and why.

In a post on his X account, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders -- Saban's peer and co-star in commercials for Aflac -- suggested that dramatic changes to college football prompted the Alabama coach's retirement. As Saban has tried to sustain his championship teams, dramatic shifts in player autonomy have occurred in the college football industry, with the Transfer Portal and NIL deals being the primary drivers.

WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement. WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let's hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see. #CoachPrime @CUBuffsFootball

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) January 10, 2024

As of Thursday morning, Saban had yet to publicly explain his motives for hanging up his headset. However, according to a report by 247Sports, Saban cited his age and health concerns among the reasons for his retirement in a team meeting where he informed the Tide of his decision.