"All about how much money can I make": Retired Alabama HC Nick Saban confirms Cowboys star Micah Parsons' NIL claims as main reason behind retirement 

Nick Saban's retirement came as a shock to much of the college football world in January. But once the dust had settled, thoughts turned to the reason why he retired.

Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons recently shared his theory on why he retired, saying that Saban's decision was due to the NIL. When Saban gave the reasons for his retirement in an interview published Wednesday by ESPN, he seemed to confirm the theory that Parsons and others have had.

“So, I'm saying to myself, 'Maybe this doesn't work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different, and that it's all about how much money can I make as a college player?'" Saban said. "I'm not saying that's bad. I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying that's never been what we were all about, and it's not why we had success through the years.”

According to the seven-time national championship coach, he retired partly due to the deteriorating relationships with his players. This may be caused by the players’ change in aspirations for their time in the program. No longer is their motivation solely to play the best they can and win the national championship, but one that is financial. This caused a clash with Saban.

Is Micah Parsons right?: Did Saban retire due to the NIL?

Nick Saban has been a vocal critic of many of the changes that college football has experienced in the last few years, including the introduction of the NIL, which allows players to be paid for commercial endorsements.

NIL plays a key role in many aspects of a college athlete's career, especially which program they decide to commit to.

No longer can the likes of Nick Saban use his successful resume to bring recruits to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, players are looking at how they can seal commercial endorsements alongside trying to play with the best in the sport.

“Our program here was always built on how much value can we create for your future and your personal development, academic success in graduating and developing an NFL career on the field,” Saban said.

For many years, that process worked. Hundreds of players played under Nick Saban at Alabama, and many became top NFL draft picks.

But nowadays, the idea of going to play college football to become a better player is not the sole reason why someone would go to a program as big as Alabama.

While the NIL wasn't the official reason why Nick Saban retired, the environment it created helped contribute to his retirement.

Micah Parsons was right.