$80 million worth Nick Saban contributes to ESPN College GameDay’s major success during Texas A&M-Notre Dame matchup

Nick Saban, the legendary former coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, contributed to ESPN College GameDay's huge success in Week 1 of the new season. He participated in the coverage of the Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame matchup and seems to have had a big impact.

The episode featuring Saban in Week 1 was one of the most successful regular season episodes in the program's history. One of the driving factors for the success transpired during a commercial break that became a viral moment with Pat McAfee.

How successful was Week 1 of College GameDay?

Week 1 of College GameDay was the most successful regular season episode in years. It averaged 2.5 million viewers throughout the game.

This was the most watched regular season episode since 2016, and numbers were up 47% from last season.

Nick Saban and Pat McAfee's viral moment

Part of the reason this episode of College GameDay got so much attention is a viral moment featuring Nick Saban and media personality Pat McAfee.

During a commercial break, a video started circulating on social media of McAfee and Saban. In the clip, McAfee can be seen dancing in his chair and snapping his fingers. He looks like he is having a bit of fun while he waits for the commercial break to end. However, Saban is also in the video, and he does not look pleased.

Nick Saban, who is nearly twice the age of McAfee, continues to glance at the latter while he dances in his chair. He glances over with a frown on his face. It is unclear whether he was upset at McAfee, but that is what McAfee seems to think. He said this on X:

"So was Coach Saban side eyeing me out there??

"I was vibin during the commercial break... minding my business.. going thru some notes.. livin.

"They're saying Coach wants to quit because of it"

Rumors started to spread on social media about whether Nick Saban's debut on College GameDay would also be his last appearance because of this incident.

Will Nick Saban return to College GameDay?

Although rumors were starting to spread about Saban's future with College GameDay, this incident will not affect his decision to stay with the show. Saban signed a multi-million dollar contract to stay with ESPN for several years, and an incident like this will not change that.

Saban and McAfee might have contrasting personalities, but that does not mean they cannot coexist on a panel. That dynamic is what ESPN wants and surely contributed to the increase in viewership. Many moments like this will likely come throughout the season.