Alabama coach Nick Saban singled out Texas A&M for "buying" its top-ranked signing class and threw a spotlight on the unintended effect of name, image and likeness rights on recruiting during an event with local business leaders on Wednesday night in Birmingham.
"I mean, we were second in recruiting last year," Saban told the audience. "A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team -- made a deal for name, image likeness. We didn't buy one player. All right? But I don't know if we're gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it.