Longtime Alabama head coach and current ESPN College GameDay analyst Nick Saban is joining the ownership ranks. Just not in the sport one might expect.
On Tuesday, the NHL’s Nashville Predators announced Saban as a minority owner of the team alongside his business partner Joe Agresti. The two own 10 car dealerships together and have worked with one another since 2013. Forbes recently reported that the dealerships generate Saban and Agresti almost $2 billion in annual revenue. Saban owns a minority stake in the portfolio.
“Although I am now retired as a coach, I still possess a competitive nature and a great passion for sports,” Saban said in the announcement. “Being involved in a sports team in Nashville has always been a goal and the opportunity to partner in the Predators with a class act like [owner] Bill Haslam created the perfect scenario for us. The Preds are a great organization with a fantastic brand, and we are excited to be part of the future success of the franchise.”
Luckily for Nick Saban, his current line of work likely won’t create any conflicts of interest between ownership and objective media coverage (unless he takes up hockey broadcasting). So there shouldn’t be any Tom Brady-esque concerns over Saban’s ownership stake here.
Saban will enter the stretch run of his media gig this weekend as College GameDay travels to both Norman, OK and College Station, TX for the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday and Saturday. So attending a Preds game may have to wait until after the season is over.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.