Deion Sanders is implementing a new NIL-based rule at Colorado that fines players if they fail to meet certain requirements. The fines range from $400 up to $5,000. This system is designed to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of college football, with coaches like Sanders holding players accountable much like the pros.
Advertisement
So, what rules did Sanders set? In one of his opening team meetings, he made it clear that if players are late to practice, it will result in a $500 fine, while being late to meetings or film sessions carries a $400 fine. The amounts only get steeper from there.
Being late to strength and conditioning, treatment, or violating team rules can result in a $1,000 fine. No-shows for strength and conditioning or treatment push the fine to $1,500. Missing a meeting or film session is a $2,000 fine. Finally, the most severe penalties involve public or social media misconduct, which can result in fines ranging from $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the severity.
It’s a wild new set of rules that Sanders is going to enforce in the 2026 season. Clearly, he’s not satisfied with the way his team performed last season, and he’s tightening the leash. However, when Emmanuel Acho was asked about these fines that Sanders would be enforcing, he couldn’t decide whether he liked them or not.
“I love it, and I hate it,” Acho said on his podcast, Speakeasy. “Apparently, I think it’s, to some degree, illegal. Which is why I hate it. If you don’t have a collective bargaining agreement, you can’t sue or fine individuals because they’re not technically employees.”
Acho is correct. To a certain degree, Sanders shouldn’t be able to enforce the fines on his players. He can enforce them in some areas, like being late to class or exhibiting poor behavior. But due to the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, it’ll be interesting to see if the NCAA steps in and makes a ruling on Sanders’ new fines relating to team activities.
Still, Acho also loves the practicality of the new model.
“However, the practicality of it, removing the legality, you want to get paid like a grown-up, I’m going to treat you like a grown-up… I like it because Deion is saying let me prepare these men to be men,” Acho said.
It’s an excellent point that should be noted above all. If college athletes want to be paid as much or more than professionals, then they need to be held to that standard. They shouldn’t be allowed to get by with the excuse that they’re young and don’t know any better.
This prompted Acho’s co-host, LeSean McCoy, to share a story about former Bills head coach Sean McDermott fining one of his players a large sum when McCoy played with Buffalo.
“In Buffalo, this player that was really, really good. One of the best defensive players I’ve ever played with. And he couldn’t get it right. He was late, late, late,” McCoy recalled. “So, McDermott, okay, cool, he started fining my man $100,000, $150,000… He kept being late.”
We wonder who McCoy was referencing in this anecdote. He played with the Bills for four seasons and saw tons of defensive teammates. We would like to pinpoint them to add more context, but it’s nearly impossible based on the little McCoy revealed.
All in all, we’re entering a new era of college football. It’s a completely new landscape where players are treated like professionals. With the amount of money the NCAA brings in, that’s how it should be. Yet people are still adjusting to the reality that 18- to 22-year-olds are making millions of dollars to go to school.
Sanders’ new model for fining players could become revolutionary in the sport. Now, players will face direct financial consequences if they don’t abide by the rules. It’s how things should be, but at the same time, it would be nice to see the NCAA establish a more official framework around the ideology.
