Ryan Day and the Buckeyes just silenced the haters with a stunning victory over Notre Dame in the CFB National Championship game in Atlanta. It wasn’t easy, though. That Michigan loss really lit a fire under Day, and things got intense. There were even threats against his family. But he had some strong cheerleaders along the way as well. Pat McAfee has been one of the prime members of the pro-Ryan Day squad. Before the title clash kicked off, McAfee cast his expert vote for Day and his team as the quintessential College Game Day ritual. The unwavering faith reflects the firm belief in Ohio State’s dominance as the team sought its first national title since 2014.

However, by breaking down the reason for the seamless win of the 9.5 favorite team, McAfee busted a myth. If you are still convincing yourself that Day can’t win a championship, and he bought it with a chunk of money, McAfee has a message for you.

Ryan Day had dealt with a lot of hate narratives in the past. The coach in his sixth year at Columbus has been an absolute workhorse in his resume. He had a decent win-loss record overall under his belt. But the one notion spoiled all the milk: Day can’t win big games, especially over their arch nemesis, the Michigan Wolverines. After he dodged it with a legit national title last night, people immediately shifted to the ‘money talks’ theory.

McCafee has seen the abrupt paradigm shift and addressed it upfront, noting, ”That was almost like a myth that was being told. And I saw some people on the internet saying they paid $20 million for their roster. I hate to break it to people, but from what we have learned, there’ are a lot of teams paying $20 million for their roster. And the number is going to be going depending upon what this ruling is and how it works out. ”

So, it’s never about the cold hard cash; if you still wonder, McAfee confirmed, ”The Big names are still gonna do the best in college football.”

But the college football landscape is transitioning. The growing allurement of NIL has been drastically shifting the reality of the athletes’ behavior and conscious career choices.

Nick Saban hates the money dynamic of college football

Nick Saban said on The Pivot Podcast that if he had the option to choose today, he’d rather jump to the NFL over college football, as college football is changing its very nature day by day. The constant transfer portal movements and the looming instability in the roster made the GOAT think the NFL would be much easier to cope with than the current CFB mix that neither totally adapted to the NFL nor stuck to their own flavor. It’s just a mess.

“It was—I love coaching pro ball,” Saban said. “I mean, and if I was going to coach today based on circumstances in college and in the NFL, I would coach in the NFL because all those things in college have changed.” Now, this comes from a CFB legend with 7 National Championships and a Hall of Fame resume. He’s been at the top of college football for 28 years as HC, with a killer record of 292-71-1.

“The whole idea of what college used to be is not there anymore. I mean, it used to be you went to college to develop value for your future. Now, people are going to college to see how much money they can make,” Saban continued. Before leaving Alabama, Saban asked Greg Byrne, the sitting athletic director of Alabama, about his concern over the ongoing trend.

He said that he feels unable to cope with the rush, the mindless rush, rather. Saban doesn’t deem the NIL emergence as particularly a detrimental step, but at the same time, he believes the taste of money ruins young students’ loyalty, decision-making ability, the importance of good academics, and everything in between.

Saban hates how much the NIL money is interfering with a potentially strong roster. The 73-year-old veteran would rather be comfortable with the NFL, where everything is upfront, and players showcase minimum loyalty and provide stability to their team. Maybe, just maybe, in another universe, Saban stands out as a prolific NFL coach with a longer, better tenure.