Reggie Bush believes the reason Nick Saban retired as the Alabama coach this week has nothing to do with his age.

Instead, the former USC star posted the 72-year-old coach no longer had control over 5-star athletes because of NIL.

“NIL ran him away,” the Fox college football analyst commented on ESPN’s Instagram post. “He has no more control over 5-star recruits. The playing field is level, and he can’t handle that.”

Bush’s was commenting on a post, which shared Saban’s explanation on why he decided to retire. On Thursday – in an interview with Rece Davis – Saban explained his reasons for stepping aside. Among them was his age.

“I actually thought that hiring coaches, recruiting players, that my age started to become a little bit of an issue,” he said. “People wanted assurances that I was going to be here for three years, five years, whatever. It got harder and harder to be honest with them.”

It’s no secret Saban has made comments against NIL. While he has always said he has been in favor or player’s making money, he wants to see some structure.

In June, Saban was part of an SEC contingent headed to Washington on to lobby Congress for federal assistance in regulating NIL.

“I think that the whole idea is, we want to provide information based on our experience, so that maybe people that are involved in the House and Senate both sort of have an idea of what the issues really are and how it can impact and affect college football in the future,” Saban said at the time.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.