Deion Sanders has never been shy about sharing his opinion on something, for better or for worse. He's got no problem being the standard-bearer in making a point. He's happy to speak for everyone, and at least in the case of this new era of college football, where money is flying in all directions, both legally and illegally, Coach Prime is saying what needs to be said.
Speaking at Big 12 Media Days, Sanders sounded off on continued shady recruiting practices in college football that have, unsurprisingly, not come to an end even after the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement passed in June and opened up direct revenue-sharing with the players from the athletic departments.
Revenue-sharing was supposed to bring to an end outlandish NIL deals, as any of those now have to go through a clearinghouse to ensure proper value is received for both sides. That is, of course, the NIL deals that are above the table.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, there's still some shady stuff going on in the world of recruiting, according to the Colorado head coach:
"I wish it was truly equality," Sanders said. "Now they go back to doing stuff under the table. They go back to the agents. Now you've got parents trying to be agents, you've got the homeboys trying to be agents, you've got the friends trying to be agents. You got a lot of bull junk going on. And quite frankly, we're sick of it. I'll say it for everybody: We're sick of it."
Colorado, entire Big 12 in danger of falling further behind the "Power Two"
Above the board NIL and revenue-sharing was supposed to strike more of a competitive balance across college football. Instead, it's just creating a bigger gap between the haves and have-nots. If you don't have rich boosters in this era, it's going to be a lot harder for you to compete.
Sanders is certainly aware of that and knows leading Colorado to the College Football Playoff is going to get more difficult.
"You understand darn near why they're in the playoffs," Sanders said, discussing how the playoff will be filled with the same teams every year. "It's kind of hard to compete with somebody who's giving $25-30 million to a freshman class. It's crazy."
Rosters are getting more expensive every year. I would like to say that Sanders is exaggerating that figure, but nothing would be surprising at this point. It was well known last season that Ohio State spent $20 million assembling the roster that went on to win the National Championship. There's not a lot of teams that can compete with that kind of cash.
The SEC and Big Ten are generating more money than the other leagues, putting Colorado and the rest of the Big 12 at an inherent disadvantage in an era where money means more than it ever has.
Spending big money isn't guaranteed to get you in the playoff. And some teams have done it without big budgets. Arizona State and Indiana, to name two from last season, made the College Football Playoff without breaking the bank. So it is possible, but things have to break just right.