During Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the “Protect College Sports Act,” Nick Saban pointed out the influence college sports agents have on student-athletes in the NIL and transfer portal era. He called for stricter regulations on agents to protect athletes from frequent transfers, massive payouts, and other unintended consequences. But he is not alone in that belief, as Utah defensive end Lance Holtzclaw also backed the legendary former Alabama coach’s claims.

“I do agree with Mr. Saban over there saying he is definitely speaking truth on what happens in the lives of our student athletes when they have to deal with agents,” Holtzclaw said before the Senate on June 3. “Agents do encourage a lot of decisions for student athletes that they have signed to their agency. And again, agents do get paid through what college athletes get paid, so their trying to influence the decisions of student athletes will influence their pay.”

Saban isn’t against players’ transfer decisions; he even said, “I think transferring is a good thing. I don’t think a player should be trapped in a bad situation.”

But when it comes to multiple transfers that are not in a player’s best interest, Saban has seen agents exert significant influence in pursuit of their own earnings rather than focusing on player development. While entering the transfer portal is not always the solution, especially considering that 30% of players fail to find a new opportunity, agents still demand up to 20% of players’ revenue as fees. That is something the former Alabama head coach does not support, and the defensive end agreed with his stance:

“I think this goes back to the education piece of educating a lot of student athletes on the fact that your agent works for you and that you don’t work for your agent. Your agent is supposed to be helping you, and again, those ridiculous amounts of money that’s being taken from a lot of these student athletes is a disservice to the game.”

Then Holtzclaw discussed his own experience with agents, and he had more bad to say than good about them.

“I’ve had great experiences when it comes to me and an agent,” the Utah athlete said. “I’ve also seen the bad side of other teammates that I’ve had that have had to deal with bad agents that have said this agent hasn’t done anything for me; they’re taking too much money, they’re this, they’re that, and there’s definitely an issue with anybody just being able to be an agent without those types of regulations. I agree that there should.”

Holtzclaw basically mirrored Saban’s words of bringing stability to college sports, limiting transfer moves, and prohibiting agents’ unfair demands for money.

“We have agents that encourage players to get in the portal when it’s really not in their best interest to get in the portal, only to try to stimulate more revenue for them, but really for themselves, with no guarantee that they’re going to get them more revenue. So I do think there should be regulation. I do think there should be rules. I do think they should be registered,” Saban added.

If the “Protect College Sports Act” becomes law, it won’t allow players unlimited free transfers. Players will get one free transfer during their undergraduate careers, but for a second transfer, a player must sit out a year or meet strict hardship exemptions. Saban supports this to control the chaos of the college landscape.

“Unlimited transfers creates free agency. Free agency with a collective, now you’re talking about bidding war for players,” the former Alabama head coach said. “And then you’ve got agents out there that are not certified that are enhancing players or encouraging players to get in the portal, ‘I can get you more money.’ So now we have this unbelievable number of players that get in a portal every year, and we have nothing to control agents, we have nothing to control tampering.”

In the modern era of NIL and the portal, tampering has become a recurring issue, and that’s exactly what the fight is against.

Nick Saban called for prompt action

During his Senate committee testimony, Nick Saban pointed out a tampering case, saying:

“Clemson had a player that was on campus for a whole week, and they came and got him off campus and took him someplace else.”

The 74-year-old referred to the Luke Ferrelli tampering saga. The former Cal LB transferred to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson in January 2026, and in the span of 2 weeks, he re-entered the portal and transferred to Pete Golding’s Ole Miss. Swinney stated that the Rebels coach allegedly contacted the LB to ask about his Clemson buyout.

Not only tampering, but players’ eligibility issues have become a talking point in college sports. For instance, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss battled for sixth-year eligibility, and despite the NCAA declaring him ineligible, a preliminary injunction will allow him to play this season. Then, more issues need fixing to protect student-athletes.

“While I may not have the titles or experience of others testifying today, I bring a perspective that cannot be replicated — the perspective of a student-athlete living through these changes in real time,” said Utah DE Lance Holtzclaw. “I have experienced the impact of NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, evolving eligibility rules, and the many changes shaping modern college athletics.”

That’s why Nick Saban pleaded to Congress to “bring order to a system that badly needs fixing… Congress does need to fix the mess in the courts and create a national framework so the people inside college sports can enforce fair rules. Without that legal certainty, every rule becomes another lawsuit, every standard becomes another risk, and the system keeps drifting toward a professional model.”