Deion Sanders stood at the podium during Big 12 Media Days with a message that addressed college football’s biggest problem.

The Colorado head coach wasn’t mincing words about NIL deals and the chaos they’ve created. His solution? Stop pretending the current system works and start copying what does.

Why Does Colorado HC Deion Sanders Think NIL Creates an Unfair Playing Field?

The college football landscape has shifted rapidly, largely due to the rise of NIL deals. While these opportunities benefit student-athletes, they have also deepened the divide between powerhouse programs and those with limited funding.

Wealthier schools now leverage major donor support and lucrative endorsements to secure elite talent, leaving smaller programs struggling to compete. As these major developments continue to unfold, Sanders has closely monitored them, expressing concern about the NCAA’s uncertain role in this evolving system.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has reemerged on the college football stage, and with him comes a renewed critique of the current state of NIL deals. Speaking at Big 12 Media Days, Sanders didn’t hold back while addressing the competitive disparity NIL has introduced into the sport.

He pointed directly at the imbalance in spending among programs and its visible impact on postseason appearances. “All you gotta do is look at the [CFP] and see what those teams spent, and you’ll understand darn well why they’re in the playoffs,” Sanders said.

His frustration was rooted not in the principle of player compensation, which he supports, but in the lack of structure guiding it. Sanders voiced concern over how programs now land recruits based primarily on NIL money rather than coaching or development.

“All you gotta do is look at the [CFP] and see what those teams spent, and you’ll understand darn well why they’re in the playoffs.”

Deion Sanders on NIL and the current state of college football. pic.twitter.com/y6A5C3dWUP

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“You got a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him a half a million dollars and you can’t compete with that,” he said. “We’re not complaining because all these coaches up here could coach their butts off… but what’s going on right now don’t make sense.”

Sanders noted that schools with the largest donor bases are stockpiling talent, while others simply can’t keep pace financially.

“And you’re talking about equality, not equality, like equal, I guess, equality. And all you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you understand darn they’re wider in the playoffs.”

What Solution Does Sanders Propose for College Football’s NIL Problem?

Sanders has long advocated for NIL regulations and, earlier in April, proposed a clear solution: a salary cap mirroring the NFL’s structure.

“There should be some kind of cap,” he said in an interview with USA Today‘s Jarrett Bell. “Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect. Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same.”

Sanders believes a structured cap would allow fairness to prevail across programs of varying size and resources. This approach would level the playing field by preventing the wealthiest programs from simply outspending their competition for top talent.

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However, the current trajectory suggests his concerns are only growing. As part of a recently approved antitrust settlement in the House v. NCAA case, schools will soon be permitted to share up to $20.5 million annually with athletes. However, for Sanders, that measure falls short of addressing the core issue.

“It’s kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s given $25, $30 million to a darn freshman class,” he said, pointing out the growing gap between schools flush with cash and those without such advantages.

Sanders’ message was direct and uncompromising. Without firm guidelines, the sport risks becoming a predictable cycle dominated by the wealthiest programs. His NFL-style salary cap proposal represents a fundamental shift toward structured competition rather than the current free-for-all approach that has transformed college recruiting into a bidding war.

With the revenue-sharing era well underway in college football, coaches are evaluating the state of the landscape. Schools are now able to directly share up to $20.5 million with athletes as part of the House v. NCAA settlement.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders sees a way to further settle things, though. Speaking during a roundtable at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday, Coach Prime called for a cap on rev-share dollars to shift things toward an NFL-like operation.

To illustrate his point, Sanders pointed out last year’s College Football Playoff and the conversations around roster costs. National champion Ohio State made headlines with its roster, worth upward of $20 million.

“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said during the panel. “Like, the top-of-the-line player makes this and if you’re not that type of guy, you know you’re not going to make that. That’s what the NFL does. The problem is, you’ve got a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him another half a million dollars. You can’t compete with that. It don’t make sense.

“You talk about equality … all you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you understand darn near why they’re in the playoffs. It’s kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s giving $25, $30 million to a darn freshman class. It’s crazy.”

Ohio State’s 2024 roster was considered one of the more expensive rosters in college football last season as the Buckeyes took down Notre Dame to win the national championship. This year, though, roster costs continued to grow as teams braced for the House v. NCAA settlement.

On3’s Pete Nakos previously reported those figures soared toward $25 to $30 million on the higher end before the settlement’s approval. Once Judge Claudia Wilken issued her order, the NIL Go clearinghouse went into effect for deals worth at least $600. That led to frontloading of deals during recruitments prior to final approval.

But even with the rising costs of rosters and the ever-changing landscape, Deion Sanders said coaches still have to develop players. That said, he also reiterated what spending big money on a roster can do when the postseason comes around.

“We’re not complaining, because all these coaches up here can coach their butts off and given the right opportunity with the right players and to play here and there, you’ll be there,” Sanders said. “But what’s going on right now don’t make sense. We want to say stuff, but we’re trying to be professional.

“But you’re going to see the same teams darn near at the end, and with somebody who sneaks up in there, the team that pays the most is going to be there in the end.”