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How NIL Deals Could Keep the Door Open for HBCUs to Land Top Recruits

To hear Nick Saban tell it, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are thriving in the NIL era by shelling out million-dollar paydays to the country’s top athletes and closing the talent gap between Power 5s and mid-majors in one fell swoop.

“I don’t even make a million!” Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders tweeted in response to Saban’s unsubstantiated claim that Sanders paid Travis Hunter, the No. 1 prospect in the SI99 recruiting rankings, the inordinate amount.

Saban’s knee-jerk reaction is part sour grapes and likely, part shock; Hunter is the first five-star football recruit to pick an HBCU in the modern recruiting era.