Nick Saban Says NIL Deals Not Reason Behind Retirement

Nick Saban is clearing the air on his decision to retire ... adamantly denying he is walking away from his legendary career due to the NIL era.

It's no secret -- the seven-time national championship winner was a huge critic of allowing student-athletes to cash in on their popularity ever since it was introduced in 2021 ... and now that it's resulted in massive checks for some of the top stars in the country, he felt it was just a fancy way of saying "pay for play," which could lead to tampering through the transfer protocol.

Deion Sanders' farewell post about Saban even seemingly hinted at the 72-year-old not being able to keep up with the NIL and transfer facet of his job ... saying, "The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away."

But, Saban is shooting down that notion in an interview with ESPN on Thursday ... explaining that's not what led him to retirement.

"Don't make it about that. It's not about that," Saban said of the speculation. "To me, if you choose to coach, you don't need to be complaining about all that stuff. You need to adjust to it and adapt to it and do the best you can under the circumstances and not complain about it."

Saban feels like he's not alone in thinking the NCAA has a big issue on its hands ... adding, "I think everybody is frustrated about it."

He also pointed out Bama continued to find success in the NIL era ... but at the end of the day, it was time to move on and hand over the reins to someone else.

Saban did, however, open up on the challenges he faced this past season ... saying he didn't experience any major health issues, but seemingly suggested his age was finally catching up to him.

The good news for Bama?? Saban said he'll stick around and help with the transition ... which was made clear when he arrived on campus Thursday morning.