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Deion Sanders was not happy with a few of his Colorado football players this week after receiving emails from professors about poor student-athlete participation in the classroom. The head coach called out those individuals in a team meeting while citing an “NIL State of Mind” as reasoning for the lack of dedication to education.
Coach Prime has long preached the importance of accountability to his squad, highlighting the attribute heavily since arriving in Boulder. He believes entitlement has slipped into his program, and others across college football, with money and attention becoming more easily accessible to amateur athletes.
So, as you could imagine, he wasn’t thrilled to see a series of negative reviews from university teachers regarding Buffalo players. He read those emails aloud while noting that a large majority of his contributors won’t have NFL futures.
“Where we are in life is solely based on our decision-making process and our choices,” Deion Sanders began. “When we make good choices, we end up in great places… You’ve got to be careful with your choices… someone’s always watching.
“You’re living in a land of, ‘What you want to do,’ because of your age… But guess what? You will progress into the land of, ‘What you’ve got to do.’
“I don’t want you to ever arrive at the place where you regret the things that you didn’t do… Right now, you’re taken care of. People [cook and clean] for you… When you take that next step, it’s going to get a little tight on you.
“We’re trying to prepare you.”
He then proceeded to read those emails from professors, which ripped Coach Prime’s players for “being present, but not really in class.”
Taking things a step further, he then singled the players out to whom the negative feedback relates, asking if any have an NFL Draft grade. In each case, the answer was no.
Deion Sanders cited an ‘NIL State of Mind’ as reasoning for the poor classroom performance.
“I’m a little frustrated and I’m a little angry right now,” he said after that team meeting. “We, in this new collective and NIL state of mind, we’ve got youngsters that are all in on one side of the game. Ninety percent of your roster ain’t going pro, so coaches, we’ve got to emphasize education. We’ve got to emphasize life. We’ve got to emphasize the next step.
“Today was not wonderful, but I’ll be darned if I allow these kids to get out of here without something.”
NIL has been a positive for players in many ways, but as most things do, it also comes with drawbacks. Coach Prime believes that it’s caused priority to be placed on athletics as opposed to education for the student-athlete.
Colorado boasts some of the top NIL earners in college football according to On3’s valuations. His son, starting QB Shedeur Sanders, is listed as the top earner in the sport, ranking second amongst all college athletes with a $4.7M value.
Travis Hunter ranks sixth in the NCAA, and 3rd in CFB, at $2.4M. Shilo Sanders and Cormani McClain also hold strong NIL valuations.
While those players bring incredible visibility to the football program, Deion Sanders wants to ensure that it doesn’t come at the detriment of education.
The criticism is the latest from a college coach surrounding the supposed negative direction in which the current football landscape is headed. Many, like Nick Saban, have called it quits on legendary careers amid the changes, while others have jumped to jobs in the NFL.
NIL, combined with the transfer portal, has created concerns in recruiting as players test the market annually rather than follow through on commitments to programs. In many cases, we’re seeing even reserve players hold their head coaches hostage with six-figure asks, threatening a transfer should demands not be met.
And those requests are even higher for top NCAA prospects.
Amateur athletics finds itself at a crossroads in its current state, and many believe the almighty dollar is being prioritized over more important values.