Deion Sanders has words for players abusing NIL system

Deion Sanders is concerned about the future of college football. The present state seems like the Wild West with the market growing rapidly. It’s not only college players cashing in on name, image and likeness, the elite high school talents are finding ways to rack up deals.

Sanders was a guest speaker for an event in Las Vegas and talked about why he rushed to sign his extension with Colorado. He also dropped a comment about NIL and how the players are treating the system.

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“I tried to hurry up and sign the deal,” Sanders said via Well Off Media. “First off, I wanted to get my coaches straight and NIL stuff straight because that stuff is crazy right now. Now it’s pay-per-view with these kids. Because I didn’t want it to affect my other kids. You know, like those pros thinking I want their jobs and would treat my kids unfairly. So I didn’t want that to happen. That’s kind of why I signed expeditiously.”

This isn’t the first time Sanders has commented about how NIL has gotten out of hand. In an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, He voiced support for a college football salary cap which mirrors the NFL’s structure.

“There should be some kind of cap. Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect,” Sanders said. “Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same. There should be a cap, and every team gets this, and you should be able to spend that.”

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For Sanders, it’s a fight about five years old in this NIL era. While players scrap for millions, there is a pay-for-play system with very little regulations in place.

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“The competitive advantage is the school that has hundreds of millions of dollars, and not us,” Sanders told Bell. “You look at who’s always in the playoffs, you can look at their budget and look at this budget. That’s the advantage—not who has the autonomy to do a spring game.”

Related: Dan Lanning sends blunt message to Oregon recruits regarding NIL

Beginning in a few months, schools will be allowed to share up to $20.5 million each year with their athletes directly. This isn’t a 100% cap for players, given the fact they could go out and get NIL deals on the open market. However, there will be more oversight from the school who can reject deals viewed as predatory. Nothing like how the NFL is set up with player endorsements.

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A different game begs for different rules of engagement. For now, there will be a need for regulations.