Kaitlan Collins is a self-professed superfan of Alabama football and their head coach Nick Saban, and as such, found herself in a potentially journalistically sticky situation reporting on a massive $93 million contract extension that makes Saban the highest-paid state employee in the nation.
To her credit, however, she appropriately disclosed her intense fandom and even went so far as to defend what many might feel is a crazy amount of money thrown towards the old ball coach, and along the way, reminded viewers why her authentic connection to non-coastal and elite America is something that has been sorely missing from CNN.
Co-host John Berman cautiously brought up the idea that paying a college football coach such a massive amount of money seems absurd to many who don’t follow college revenue sports or at least reveals skewed priorities of American society. But Collins wasn’t playing and actually pushed back on that notion insisting that Saban is not overpaid but underpaid. Yeah, she went there, but she brought receipts.
“I’m nervous to join this conversation,” Berman opened, adding, “Just bring people up to speed; Kaitlan Collins is the number one Alabama superfan on Earth, whose screen saver on her phone is Nick Saban.” Collins then self-mockingly raised her phone to prove Berman right.
Berman continued, “So I’m afraid to ask this, but a college football coach at a state school, technically — sort
Collins let panelist Omar Jimenez opine first, who noted that Saban is great for the institution, before allowing how this massive payday “also shows where the priorities are” for a state institution to put all these resources towards a state employee.
This is where Collins pounced. “Not only do I not think he’s overpaid, I think he has underpaid.”
“It is not just the national championships and the eight SEC Championships that contribute to that thinking of mine,” she continued. “Look at the enrollment at Alabama, a school I clearly attended — I don’t know if I made that clear— my little brother just enrolled there as well.”
“It used to be 23,000 students, 24,000. It is now 38,000 students,” she continued. “The number of out-of-state students has also skyrocketed. They pay higher tuition. It brings in so much money for the university that if you are looking at a balance sheet, it makes sense. Maybe it is not what everyone likes or thinks is the most intellectual thing to pursue for a university, but it does draw students and does boost morale, and makes it a really exciting campus to join.”
Hard to find an argument with Collins here,
It’s not clear if Collins also cheered for the Death Star while watching Star Wars, but we will give her the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Watch above via CNN.