Nick Saban has been critical of NIL ever since it was introduced into college sports in 2021. He still believes it is hurting college football by turning it into a pay-for-play system similar to free agency in professional sports, while also shifting the focus away from academics. However, not everyone agrees with Saban.
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Some believe players are finally getting paid the way they deserve and that the NIL should have been instituted years back. They believe the opportunity should not be taken away now. Needless to say, the NIL supporters would not be very happy with Saban’s comments. Did that include Trent Richardson, one of Saban’s former players?
Claim: Trent Richardson slammed his former coach, Nick Saban, for his commentary on NIL.
“Honestly, I don’t get why he’s even commenting on it, they gave me and my family $75,000 just to commit, plus $10,000 a month to stay at Alabama,” an X account posted the quote, attributing it to Richardson.
Source of rumor: The account making the claim on X is called No3 Sports. It has around 17k followers and has been active for almost 10 years. On the surface, it appears to be a fairly reputable source.
Former Alabama running back Trent Richardson weighed in on Nick Saban’s stance against paying players.
“Honestly, I don’t get why he’s even commenting on it, they gave me and my family $75,000 just to commit, plus $10,000 a month to stay at Alabama.” pic.twitter.com/XWukxxcHEh
— No3 Sports (@No3sports) March 8, 2026
Verdict: False. The news that Trent Richardson slammed his former coach, Nick Saban, for his take on NIL is false.
No3 Sports is a parody account. As reputable as it seems on the surface, the page says right in its bio that it reports parody news for college sports. This one about Richardson and Saban just happened to hit mainstream news, confusing the masses.
Even two-time Super Bowl champ LeSean McCoy reacted to the post, believing it was real. “Now young players are getting paid their worth and not used, everybody has a problem with it .. Trent said it!!!” McCoy commented.
Now young players are getting paid their worth and not used everybody has a problem with it .. Trent said it!!! https://t.co/gJdjvl7fgM
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) March 8, 2026
So, there you have it. Richardson has not spoken about what Saban said about the advent of NIL. The former running back does make appearances on Ryan Clark’s podcast, The Pivot, from time to time. But for the most part, he stays out of the media limelight.
The lesson here: Parody accounts are everywhere nowadays. In fact, some people even take pride in tricking a massive audience into believing a news story that is all but made up.
