The question was about Texas Tech.

The answer? Classic Coach Prime.

At Big 12 Media Days in Frisco on Tuesday, Deion Sanders took a brief detour from quarterback questions and health updates to weigh in on what everyone in college football has been whispering about: NIL money, the transfer portal, and how Texas Tech is handing out deals like it’s the MLB trade deadline.

“Joey’s got some money! He’s spending that money! I love it.”

Coach Prime on Texas Tech NIL spending

That “Joey” is Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire—an old friend of Sanders from their time in Texas high school football—and now, the leader of college football’s second-ranked incoming transfer class.

Tech has landed 21 transfers this cycle and recently signed five-star tackle Felix Ojo (who visited Colorado in May) to a reported $5.1 million revenue-sharing deal.

Let that number marinate for a second.

$5.1 million. For a high school senior.

From target to trendsetter

What made Prime’s comments great was what came next.

“Once upon a time, you guys were talking junk about me going in that portal. Now when everybody goes in the portal, it’s OK. It’s cool when they do it. It’s a problem when I do it. Ain’t that a rap song?”

It is a rap song, and it’s also a dead-on point.

Two years ago, Sanders was the villain of college football for flipping Colorado’s roster inside-out through the portal. The media backlash was loud.

But now? Joey McGuire does it. Purdue does it. Even Bill Belichick at UNC is diving in. Suddenly, it’s innovative.

Funny how that works.

The NIL divide

The truth is—Texas Tech has big-time financial backing.

Their top donor, Cody Campbell, is reportedly helping bankroll $55 million in NIL deals across Tech athletics. That’s not a typo. That’s oil money, West Texas style. And it’s creating a major gap between haves and have-nots in the Big 12.

Colorado? We’re not there yet.

“Can you send a few of those dollars to us so we can get some of those players too?” Sanders joked.

And sure, he was half-kidding. But there’s truth behind the humor. The Buffs aren’t poor by any means—but compared to the booster-driven NIL war chests at places like Tech, USC, or even Utah, CU is still playing catch-up.

Coach Prime’s cap vision

Sanders didn’t stop there. He also shared something deeper.

“I wish it was a cap. The top 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 half a million dollars. You can’t compete with that.”

It was a rare moment. It highlights what we already know: Coach Prime is trying to build something sustainable in Boulder.

He’s not against NIL, and he’s all for players getting paid. But Coach wants a system that makes sense and one that is fair. One that keeps the sport from turning into a free-agent circus every December.

Mutual respect, real talk

There’s no beef between Sanders and McGuire. In fact, there’s a ton of mutual admiration. Prime called McGuire “one of the best coaches in the conference” and a “man of standard.” That’s high praise.

And don’t forget—last season, Sanders and the Buffs went into Lubbock and beat Tech 41-27. Tortillas flew. Debris hit the field. It was the wildest road environment Colorado played in all year.

And when things got heated, it was McGuire who grabbed the mic and told Tech fans to chill.

“Joey told them to stop throwing at us or there’d be consequences,” Sanders said. “And I love that. I love Joey.”

But don’t mistake love for complacency.

Coach Prime sees what’s happening in this new NIL world. He’s not bitter—but he’s definitely aware. He’s the trendsetter, and now everyone else is catching up, but with deeper pockets.

Where the Buffs stand

This was a glimpse at the new college football arms race, and where Colorado stands in it.

The Buffs are trending in the right direction, but to truly compete in the Big 12 and beyond, we need to close the financial gap.

That means donors stepping up and fans supporting NIL collectives.

We need to match the energy that Tech is bringing, but because of who Prime is, that would bring serious criticism.

However, if we want to make Boulder the permanent home of college football’s most electric head coach, we better keep giving him the resources to fight.

— Want more stories like this? Follow us on X for all things Colorado Football and Basketball. 

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A new effort across party lines to bring order to the chaotic world of name, image and likeness (NIL) in college sports took a big step forward this week with the introduction of legislation proposing to establish a national framework for student-athlete compensation — thanks in part to an Alabama congressman.

The NIL era in college sports has brought a period of unprecedented chaos where legal pay-for-play has ruled the landscape and only widened the gap between those with financial backing to buy entire rosters and those without.

Even in the wake of the House settlement, the need for government intervention and federal legislation has become increasingly clear, though years of legislative momentum on that front have yet to produce results.

RELATED: Sen. Tuberville: With the future of college sports at stake, Congress must act on NIL

RELATED: ‘This model is unsustainable’: Saban unleashes new NIL tangent after CFB Championship

U.S. Rep. Shomari C. Figures (D-Mobile) announced this week that he was co-sponsoring a bill known as the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, which would enact a national framework for NIL.

“The current college sports environment has drastically changed in the NIL era, and this bill provides a framework to where students can not only be compensated but also have access to resources like health care and financial literacy courses, to ensure they have a solid foundation for their lives after college and we can get back to just playing ball,” Figures said in an announcement this week.

“I look forward to continuing the bipartisan work to make this the strongest bill possible and protect student-athletes, schools, and our athletic conferences.”

Republican U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) are also signed onto the bill, representing the Chairmen of the the U.S. House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, and the Judiciary.

The legislation also has the support of one of the most powerful figures in college sports: Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics Director Greg Byrne.

Byrne signaled his support for the SCORE Act on Friday and thanked Figures for helping to lead the charge.

Thank you, @repscfigures for your support of student-athletes and college athletics!

Wonderful to see a bipartisan effort with the introduction of the SCORE Act that could lead to stability for college athletics. #RollTide https://t.co/aZRY85YIHF

— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) July 11, 2025

Byrne expanded on the message on social media with an official statement within the release announcing the bill.

“We sincerely thank Congressman Figures for leading a bipartisan solution for intercollegiate athletics that recognizes the importance of creating a long-term sustainable model that provides the best opportunity to preserve broad athletic opportunities for student-athletes for generations to come,” he said.

RELATED: Nick Saban, U.S. Senators want to regulate NIL before it’s too late

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey — one of the most powerful figures in all of college football — issued a statement of support as well.

“I welcome the commitment of Representative Shomari Figures to support a sustainable future for college athletics,” Sankey said. “During this time of historic change, his efforts to provide clarity and stability to student-athletes, universities and the broader collegiate sports landscape are meaningful.  We will continue building upon this momentum to deliver a national solution that athletes, coaches, and universities both need and deserve.”

RELATED: Sen. Tuberville: ‘NIL has turned collegiate sports into the Wild West’

This is hardly the first attempt from the government to take some sort of legislative step to address NIL.

In 2023, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and former U.S. Senator Joe Manchin advocated for a bipartisan bill known as the PASS Act.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has also been at the center of tons of NIL related discussion including heading up roundtables in Washington that have included former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban.

Now originating in the U.S. House, the SCORE Act is expected to gain momentum during the current session of congress.

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia head softball coach Tony Baldwin has announced the additions of five transfer student-athletes for the 2026 season. The signees include pitchers Addisen Fisher (UCLA) and Maddie Johnson (Georgia Southern), infielders Bailey Lindemuth (Texas Tech) and Keirstin Roose (Coastal Carolina), and outfielder Delani Sullivan (Kentucky).
 
“We are excited to welcome Addison, Bailey, Delani, Kierstin, and Maddie to our program. We believe that each will have a significant impact on our team,” Baldwin said. “Not only are they very talented, but they’re also the right ‘fit’ for our locker room, which is critical to our success. We believe that we have positively impacted our team offensively, defensively, and in the circle. With the mix of these transfers, a solid group of returners, and an exciting incoming freshman class, we will head into the fall with optimism, and we’re looking forward to getting to work.
 
“Much of the credit goes to our coaching staff and support staff. The work they put into identifying the right people, doing the homework they need to do to make sure we are bringing in the right people, and doing it in a timely fashion is critical in this new world of recruiting. I really am thankful for all the people who are invested in our program, the work they do, and the character with which they do it. Go Dawgs!”
 
ADDISEN FISHER | RHP | Bend, Ore. | UCLA | Bend HS
Right-handed pitcher Addisen Fisher transfers to Georgia from UCLA, where she was named a 2025 D1Softball First Team Freshman All-American, an NFCA All-West Region First Team member, a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, and appeared on the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 list.
 
Last season, Fisher posted a 16-2 record with a. 2.59 earned run average (eighth best in the Big Ten), 1.28 WHIP, and 100 strikeouts over 113.2 innings and 32 appearances (16 starts). She notched two complete-game shutouts and allowed a .241 opponent batting average (105 hits). She opened her career with a 16-0 record before drawing her first loss, tying Amanda Freed (1999) for the best start by a Bruins’ freshman in program history. Her best outing of the year was a complete-game shutout performance at No. 5 Oregon, where she struck out three in her return to her home state (April 19). She tossed the first no-hitter of her collegiate career at Howard (March 26).
 
Fisher competed for Team USA at the WBSC U-18 World Cup Group Stage Event in Dallas, Texas, from Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2024, finishing with a 2-0 record and 15 strikeouts over 10.0 innings in three appearances.  Fisher threw a complete-game shutout, the only Team USA pitcher to throw a complete game, with eight strikeouts in a 7-0 win over Canada to punch Team USA’s ticket to the World Cup Finals, held in 2025 (Sept. 2).
 
Fisher was a four-year letterwinner at Bend High School in Bend, Oregon, and was heralded as the top-ranked player in the 2024 signing class by Softball America, Extra Inning Softball, and Perfect Game Softball. She was named the 2024 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year for her senior season. Additionally, Fisher was a three-time winner of the Gatorade Oregon Softball Player of the Year award (2021, 2023, 2024) and a four-time Class 5A All-State First Team honoree. She finished her high school career with a 66-3 record, 861 strikeouts, 24 no-hitters and 11 perfect games, leading Bend to the 2024 Class 5A state title her senior season, compiling a 20-2 record, 0.36 ERA, 261 strikeouts, .092 opponent batting average, 10 shutouts, five no-hitters and four perfect games over 134.2 innings.
 
Baldwin on Fisher: “Addison has all the pieces to be a front-line starter in the SEC. She throws hard, commands the ball, and has one of the best drop balls in the country. She is truly a top talent, but what really makes her special is her personality. She has a fun personality and loves to smile! Bulldog fans are going to love watching her compete this spring.”
 
MADDIE JOHNSON | RHP | Athens, Ga. | Georgia Southern | North Oconee HS
Athens native and right-handed pitcher Maddie Johnson signs to UGA from Georgia Southern, where she was tabbed a D1Softball Second Team Freshman All-American, Softball America Freshman All-American, NFCA Third Team All-South Region member, and First Team All-Sun Belt Team selection.
 
Johnson pitched 145 innings in 30 appearances and 21 starts as a freshman in 2025. She concluded the season with a conference-leading 2.03 ERA, a 12-10 record, and a pair of saves. Johnson fanned 110 batters, allowing only 39 walks. Johnson pitched a seven-inning no-hitter, Georgia Southern’s first since 2017, against Georgia Mason on Feb. 28, recording a season-high 11 strikeouts and no walks. She was named Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week twice in 2025.
 
Johnson was a four-year letter winner at North Oconee HS. She was named 2023 Region 8-AAAA Pitcher of the Year, was a four-time First Team All-Region Team member, 2023 First Team All-State, and 2021 Second Team All-State. Johnson holds the school records in career strikeouts, games pitched, consecutive shutout innings, single-season strikeouts, and strikeouts in a game. In the classroom, she was a four-year academic honor roll honoree. She played travel ball for Georgia Impact Maher and Impact Janney/Lewis.
 
Baldwin on Johnson: “Maddie is a Dawg through and through. She had success in high school locally at North Oconee High School, but really blossomed last year as a freshman. Her ability to command the ball with velocity and change speeds allowed her to have success against some of the top teams in the country, including us! We believe she still has better days ahead and are excited for those days to be in the Red and Black.”
 
BAILEY LINDEMUTH | INF | Burleson, Texas | Texas Tech | Burleson Centennial HS
Infielder Bailey Lindemuth has signed with UGA from Texas Tech. Lindemuth helped guide the Red Raiders to a Women’s College World Series championship series appearance as a true freshman in 2025.
 
Lindemuth played and started in all 68 games, 66 starts at third base and two in the circle. She finished with a 2-1 record and 2.55 ERA in the circle, hit .395 with 50 hits, including eight doubles and five home runs, and drove in 32 runs. She was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and All-Big 12 Freshmen Team for her performance and was named Big 12 Player of the Week on March 11.
 
She signed to Texas Tech as the 11^th-ranked pitcher in the 2024 class, according to Extra Inning. She garnered several honors, including being named the 2021 District 8-5A Offensive Player of the Year, and being selected 2021 First Team All-District, the DFW Sophomore of the Year, District MVP in 2022, 2022 First Team All-District, 2022 All-Johnson County MVP, 2023 District 8-5A MVP, Fort Worth Star Telegram Area MVP, and earning TGCA All-State honors. She holds the school record for home runs, RBI, and strikeouts, and established herself as one of the best two-way players in the 2024 class. Lindemuth played travel ball for Stryker National Esparza under coach Charlie Esparza, where she hit .489 with a 1.472 on-base percentage and 34 RBI, thanks to 45 hits and 13 home runs. She was named to the District 8-5A Academic team for her work in the classroom.
 
Baldwin on Lindemuth: “Bailey is the perfect fit for our program. She is a talented infielder and a high-character individual. A full-time starter and an All-Big 12 performer as a freshman, we believe she makes our team better now while still having her best softball ahead of her. One thing for sure about Bailey is that she loves to compete, and we can’t wait to get her to Athens and get to work.”
 
KEIRSTIN ROOSE | INF | Wolcottville, Ind. | Coastal Carolina | Lakeland HS
Infielder Keirstin Roose has signed with UGA as a graduate transfer from Coastal Carolina. In her final season at CCU, Roose picked up NFCA All-South Region Second Team honors, All-Sun Belt Second Team honors, and landed a spot on the CSC Academic All-District Team. Roose helped guide the Chanticleers to the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Tournament Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Durham Regional.
 
In her CCU career, Roose played in 177 games, starting all but three in four seasons. She hit .281, scattering 145 hits, including 31 doubles, three triples, and blasting 25 home runs. She drove in 102 runs and slugged .498 with a .340 on-base percentage. In the classroom, she has been named an Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
 
Prior to her Coastal Carolina career, Roose was a multi-sport athlete at Lakeland High School. She lettered in softball, soccer, basketball, track & field, and golf. She was a finalist for the 2021 Indiana Miss Softball award. She was named the 2022 Prep Player of the Year, 2021 Indiana all-state softball team, was a three-time KPC All-Area selection, and a three-time NECC All-Conference selection. She helped lead Lakeland to a 2018 conference championship and a 2019 sectional championship. She set single-season records at Lakeland in home runs (18), batting average (.667), and RBI (44). Off the softball diamond, she was a three-time KPC All-Area selection in soccer, a two-time NECC All-Conference performer in soccer, and a two-time all-conference selection in both basketball and track & field, and was a KPC All-Area honoree once in both basketball and track & field. Roose was named the 2019 Prep Player of the Year in soccer in her sophomore season and was a three-time conference champion in soccer (2017, 2018, 2019). Additionally, she was the 2019 sectional champion in the discus throw in track & field.
 
Baldwin on Roose: “Kierstin is a grad transfer that will bring a wealth of experience to our team. She is a competitor and a go-getter. Her athleticism and power were two things that stood out physically when we started evaluating her. Adding her power bat and athleticism to our lineup will be a welcome addition. We are excited to get her to Athens.”
 
DELANI SULLIVAN | OF | Georgetown, Ky. | Kentucky | Great Crossing HS
Outfielder Delani Sullivan has signed with UGA from Kentucky. In two seasons in Lexington, Sullivan played in 95 games. She scattered 25 hits in 103 at-bats, including four doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Last season, she drove in 10 runs. She stole four bases in each season for the Wildcats. In the classroom, she was a member of the 2025 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll and the 2023-24 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll.
 
In high school, she was named to the Kentucky District and Regional All-Tournament Team and the First Team All-State for Kentucky in 2021. As a senior, she led the Warhawks in many offensive categories, including average (.527), at-bats (112), runs (48), hits (59), doubles (15), triples (7), and stolen bases (36).
Her sister Kennedy played for Kentucky from 2022-23.
 
Baldwin on Sullivan: “We are excited to welcome Delani to Athens. With the loss of Dallis Goodnight, the centerfield position is one we will have a lot of competition for. Delani will be right in the middle of that competition. Her speed and ability to make things happen will add a valuable piece to our offense. We believe she is just tapping into her potential and look forward to seeing that potential in the Red and Black.”
 

Kenny Dillingham said, “I just want to know the rules” when it comes to clarification about NIL deals and revenue sharing. (Photo by Truitt Robinson/Cronkite News)

FRISCO, Texas – The state of college sports could calmly be described as the Wild, Wild West, a stage for an old-fashioned duel between programs and the NCAA, with athletes standing somewhere in the middle.

Texas is a fitting setting for such showdowns.

Big 12 Media Days provided several opportunities for coaches in the conference to voice their displeasure with the current system and how players are paid like NFL stars. Even though power conference teams like those within the Big 12 do benefit in terms of securing more commitments from the best available players, they realize it’s an unjust and unfair system that could monopolize the sport indefinitely.

“We’re in the profession and we don’t even know the rules,” Cincinnati football coach Scott Satterfield said. “It’s difficult, and it’s ever-changing. There’s nothing that’s been stable, really, since 2020. Things have changed so much and so fast.”

Recruiting is among the biggest challenges. Though the NCAA reached a settlement in June that would give $2.8 billion for colleges to pay athletes, the NCAA is negotiating with House plaintiff lawyers to apply rules and repercussions to schools that attempt to avoid the cap in compensation packages offered to incoming players. Third-party NIL deals are being fully guaranteed, which would go against new revenue-sharing rules. Programs are also offering contracts that would be impossible to fit beneath the $20.8 million annual compensation cap.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who captured the Big 12 crown last season behind a slew of portal additions, is eager for a clear-cut direction for the sport so college football can return to what he believes are the values at its core.

“I just want to know the rules,” Dillingham said. “Tell us where the sandbox is and we’ll play in it. At the end of the day, this is a game. I know this is a business, I know this is a profession for everybody. But anybody who’s not in this to see a kid go from an 18-year-old kid to a 22-year-old man, and enter the real world, is in it for the wrong reasons.”

In a time when players can earn millions of dollars as freshmen or by entering the portal, the players a team retains for several years become the most crucial ones on the roster.

“In this new era where you have 105 kids on scholarship, it’s all about retaining the guys on your team,” Dillingham said. “If you constantly are looking for the next best thing to replace the guys on your team, then your own guys and your team should leave. Why wouldn’t they? If you’re not loyal to them, they shouldn’t be loyal to you.”

Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he wishes the new era of college football included a hard salary cap with a system to rank player salaries based on ability. (Photo by Truitt Robinson/Cronkite News)

The two-way street of loyalty and trust between players and coaching staff is occasionally the deciding factor for players being recruited with similarly hefty bags of cash. Coaches argue that it should return to the forefront of the recruiting process. That point is only emphasized by the fact that hundreds of submitted NIL deals hang in limbo while the College Sports Commission and NIL clearinghouse manage the fallout of the settlement.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders proposed a hard salary cap with a system to tier rank player salaries based on ability and overall performance.

“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said. “The top-of-the-line guy 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 have a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him half a million dollars, and you can’t compete with that. It doesn’t make sense.”

Moments earlier, however, Sanders praised Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire for spending aggressively in the transfer portal. The Red Raiders flipped their team into a recruiting juggernaut almost overnight, spending upwards of $50 million on players, which was split into $30 million front-loaded and another $20.5 million courtesy of the revenue-share. Front-loaded contracts allowed school collectives to pay players before the enforcement of the settlement on July 1.

McGuire, whose Red Raiders figure to contend for the Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff selection this fall, said his aggression is just taking advantage of the current state of affairs, and more schools should do the same to compete with the annual contenders from the SEC and Big Ten.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, entering his 21st season at the helm of the Utes, echoed Sanders’ sentiment about a salary cap. He acknowledged that players are moving toward becoming official employees, though the contracts they are now signing to get paid make them employees in every way but the official title. Whittingham remains unsure of the extent to which he supports employing college athletes.

“You say, ‘college football’s not the NFL,’ but the NFL has been doing some good things for a lot of years,” Whittingham said. “We ought to take some pages from them on how to implement a salary cap and collective bargaining if it comes to that. … As distasteful as it might sound to some people, I think an NFL minor league model is the best direction to hit.”

Until new policies can be enforced at every level of college football to ensure more parity and a fair state of play, the formula for winning national championships is printed on a blank check.

“All you have to do is look at the College Football Playoff and see what those teams spent,” Sanders said. “And you’ll understand darn well why they’re in the playoffs.”

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