Goodman: Time to face the truth about the future of college football

This is an opinion column.

A decade ago, Alabama’s running back depth chart was a different world. Damien Harris led the room, backed by Bo Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs. Behind them—and left off the official chart entirely—were Brian Robinson Jr. and Najee Harris. That is five future NFL players in one position group. While injuries forced Harris and Scarbrough to retire, Robinson, Jacobs, and Najee Harris remain league standouts, though Jacobs faces uncertainty following a recent domestic abuse arrest.

The talent disparity between that era and the 2026 Crimson Tide is staggering. I found myself dwelling on those past depth charts while watching Nick Saban provide sworn testimony before Congress in support of the Protect College Sports Act. If you were to price that 2017 backfield in today’s market, you are looking at an investment of at least $5 million.

The Illusion of the Protect College Sports Act

Could the proposed Protect College Sports Act actually help Alabama reclaim its former glory? That is the hope, but it is likely wishful thinking. The bill feels like a performative political maneuver, an attempt by Washington to regulate an industry that thrives on high-salaried administrators while simultaneously working to keep athlete compensation suppressed under the guise of the public good.

It is essentially a waste of legislative time, serving only to generate headlines. However, the fact that the SEC opposes the bill while Saban supports it suggests it might actually hold value for Alabama. Saban clearly favors a level playing field, where traditional program identity and regional recruiting advantages—his hallmarks—carry more weight than the current system, where oil and tech billionaires effectively buy the best rosters.

Alabama is not reverting to the pre-NIL era, but the current reality—highlighted by a dismal 23-yard rushing performance against Indiana in the Rose Bowl—is clearly falling short. Saban avoided mentioning the runaway inflation of coach salaries during his testimony, choosing instead to focus on the costs of paying players. It is hard to ignore the irony, though: he is a legend frustrated by losing his recruiting edge and watching Kalen DeBoer hand out ice cream cones instead of securing commitments.

The Future of College Football

The lopsided 38-3 loss to Indiana is a perfect metaphor for the legislative future of this bill. It is unlikely to survive the Senate without support from major conferences, and the partisan divide in the House adds another layer of obstruction. Ultimately, the Supreme Court has already signaled that the old model is legally untenable.

The hearing did pull back the curtain on the priorities of the SEC and Big Ten. Commissioner Greg Sankey’s opposition to the bill highlights a front office focused more on lucrative TV contracts than the stability of collegiate athletics. The bill’s mechanism to pool media rights is a non-starter for the SEC, which puts their bottom line ahead of other programs.

Face the truth: college football is racing toward a professional model. Collective bargaining is the only path forward to control spending. As NIL costs balloon—far beyond the $40 million roster figure discussed for LSU—the Super League is no longer a theory. Behind the scenes, the restructuring of the ACC and Big 12 is already underway. Texas Tech to the SEC? Georgia Tech to the Big Ten? It is all on the table.

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