Deion Sanders has no shortage of opinions when it comes to the future of college football.

But last week at Big 12 Media Days, Coach Prime made it clear he believes the sport has let certain standards slip — starting with the uniforms.

“I’m sick of the biker shorts,” Sanders said bluntly during his media availability. “We’ve got guys in biker shorts, no knee pads, pants halfway up their thighs — and we’re allowing that?”

Coach didn’t stop there. He’s calling for fines for players who don’t wear their uniforms properly. It’s a move that reflects how Sanders believes college football should start mirroring the accountability structure of the NFL.

“I think there should be a fine implemented for that stuff,” Sanders said. “Let’s have more respect for this tremendous game.”

NFL standards in a college locker room

Coach Prime is no stranger to enforcing discipline. At Colorado, players are required to wear their pants to the knee — whether it’s practice or game day. There’s no wiggle room on that.

And while Sanders is known for letting players show personality — everything from gold cleats to social media handles on practice jerseys — he draws the line when it comes to honoring the game’s tradition through uniform standards.

“I played this game at a high level,” Sanders said. “I’ve been through the fines. I’ve been in that league. It’s about pride in how you carry yourself.”

In his mind, college athletes should be held to a higher standard — especially now that many are earning significant income through name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals.

“If you’re getting paid, you should be held accountable like a pro,” he said.

An unlikely battleground: Pants

To many, it may seem like a minor issue. But uniform violations have become a growing frustration among longtime coaches.

Sanders is far from the only coach who’s noticed the shift. But he might be the only one calling for an actual enforcement.

Currently, NCAA rules technically require players to wear full uniforms, including knee pads. But the enforcement is almost nonexistent.

Unlike the NFL, there are no uniform inspectors issuing fines or pulling players aside.

Sanders believes that’s part of the problem.

“You throw a flag, it’s whatever,” he said. “But hit them with a fine? Watch how quick they fix it.”

A bigger vision for the game

The uniform discussion is just one piece of a much larger picture for Sanders. Throughout the offseason, he’s advocated for a salary cap system in college football.

“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said. “Top-of-the-line players make this much. If you’re not that guy, you know you’re not getting that. That’s how the NFL does it.”

If you can remember back in March, he also pushed the NCAA to allow joint practices between schools — a staple of NFL training camps — and was denied.

It’s clear he’s trying to reshape the game in a way that blends tradition, NFL professionalism, and player development.

Fall camp begins July 28

Colorado opens training camp in two weeks and kicks off the 2025 season on August 29 against Georgia Tech in Boulder.

While the Buffs continue to chase improvement on the field after last year’s 9-4 campaign, the tone off the field has been set.

Expect clean, full-length pants on game day — because in Boulder, that’s not optional.

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Ole Miss Rebel Head Coach, Lane Kiffin, was one of the first coaches to speak at the 2025 SEC Media Days in Atlanta, GA. Lane Kiffin in now entering his 6th season as the Rebels head coach and has led the team to three ten-plus win seasons in that time span. As he is accustomed to doing, he once again made a series of headline grabbing statements.

Kiffin has been one of the louder voices in the NIL space, and the Rebels have been one of the teams that have been most positively impacted by the changing landscape of college football. Kiffin has also previously signaled support for a salary cap in college football in past statements and interviews.

Today during his media day appearance, Kiffin was once again asked about a salary cap, particularly in relation to the impact of revenue sharing. The question was, “You mentioned the current cap in college sports. You’ve spoken about a salary cap before. Now that revenue sharing is underway, do you think college football should and can have a hard salary cap?”

Kiffin’s response was, “I think that’s what we attempted. Doesn’t seem like that’s working very well…That was the intention of what was going on because there were so many complaints when NIL started about, okay, everybody has different advantages, and different payrolls. Saw those a couple of years ago…So that was supposed to be being fixed, and now it’s not…So you’re not operating on a salary cap, so”

This is a notable exchange here from Kiffin. In early June a judge signed of a long awaited settlement that will allow, for the first time, schools to directly pay student athletes for the first time by sharing some of their athletic department revenue with athletes. There is a limit on how much they are allowed to share, essentially a cap.

However, the rules are still unclear on prohibiting additional payments to athletes through the use of third party entities, such as collective, that have become a staple of college athletics over the last few seasons. That is why Kiffin is saying the revenue sharing model has not created a salary cap, it has instead just created an additional avenue to pay players.

Just last week, a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders introduced a new bill aimed at creating a structured national framework for paying athletes in the NIL era.

Stay tuned here for more recaps of the Ole Miss appearances at SEC Media Days, including a full recap of Kiffin’s interview and the three Ole Miss players in attendance, Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee, and TJ Dottery.

Ole Miss Rebel Head Coach, Lane Kiffin, was one of the first coaches to speak at the 2025 SEC Media Days in Atlanta, GA. Lane Kiffin in now entering his 6th season as the Rebels head coach and has led the team to three ten-plus win seasons in that time span. As he is accustomed to doing, he once again made a series of headline grabbing statements.

Kiffin has been one of the louder voices in the NIL space, and the Rebels have been one of the teams that have been most positively impacted by the changing landscape of college football. Kiffin has also previously signaled support for a salary cap in college football in past statements and interviews.

Today during his media day appearance, Kiffin was once again asked about a salary cap, particularly in relation to the impact of revenue sharing. The question was, “You mentioned the current cap in college sports. You’ve spoken about a salary cap before. Now that revenue sharing is underway, do you think college football should and can have a hard salary cap?”

Kiffin’s response was, “I think that’s what we attempted. Doesn’t seem like that’s working very well…That was the intention of what was going on because there were so many complaints when NIL started about, okay, everybody has different advantages, and different payrolls. Saw those a couple of years ago…So that was supposed to be being fixed, and now it’s not…So you’re not operating on a salary cap, so”

This is a notable exchange here from Kiffin. In early June a judge signed of a long awaited settlement that will allow, for the first time, schools to directly pay student athletes for the first time by sharing some of their athletic department revenue with athletes. There is a limit on how much they are allowed to share, essentially a cap.

However, the rules are still unclear on prohibiting additional payments to athletes through the use of third party entities, such as collective, that have become a staple of college athletics over the last few seasons. That is why Kiffin is saying the revenue sharing model has not created a salary cap, it has instead just created an additional avenue to pay players.

Just last week, a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders introduced a new bill aimed at creating a structured national framework for paying athletes in the NIL era.

Stay tuned here for more recaps of the Ole Miss appearances at SEC Media Days, including a full recap of Kiffin’s interview and the three Ole Miss players in attendance, Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee, and TJ Dottery.