“Love How He Waited to Talk About It Until His Kids Left School”: Fans React as Deion Sanders Asks the NCAA for a Salary Cap in CFB

Deion Sanders has never been one to shy away from challenging the status quo in college football. From turning Jackson State into a national headline to pulling Colorado out of irrelevance, he has made a career out of shattering preconceived notions.

Now, Sanders’ latest call to action targets the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) landscape. He’s advocating for a salary cap to level the playing field among collegiate programs.​ But this isn’t the first time he has raised this issue.

Back in 2022, Sanders had expressed concern over the state of NIL deals, likening them to professional contracts that disrupt the traditional collegiate model.

“When you start paying athletes like they’re professionals, you get athletes acting like they’re professionals,” remarked Coach Prime. According to Sanders, this shift places undue pressure on student-athletes and coaching staff, especially when players earn more than some of their mentors.

The disparity in resources between larger programs and smaller schools has also been a focal point of Sanders’ critique. He highlighted the challenges faced by less-funded institutions, stating, “It’s becoming free agency, real free agency, and if you don’t have (the funds), you’re not going to be able to compete.” This environment, according to the two-time Super Bowl champ, undermines the competitive balance that is fundamental to college athletics.​

To address these issues — which have only escalated since he first spoke out — Deion Sanders has now proposed implementing a standardized salary cap across all collegiate programs.

He believes that mirroring the NFL’s financial regulations could bring much-needed structure to the NIL system. “There should be some kind of cap. Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect. Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same,” Sanders asserted (via USA TODAY Sports).

Unsurprisingly, most college football fans saw merit in Coach Prime’s suggestions. A few even added to the idea by suggesting that all universities appoint a General Manager or a commissioner to handle the salary cap. Moreover, several internet users believe that such appointments would also improve the quality of the new GM hiring pool for NFL teams.

“Absolutely right! There needs to be a cap, and MOST importantly, they need a commissioner. Someone has to be bringing leadership and direction for the good of these kids,” argued a CFB fan.

“I 100% agree. Make the playing field fair for D1, D2, and D3. Plus, it makes all colleges create a GM position (which some schools already have), which will also build a more qualified pool of GMs for future NFL hires,” penned another.

While most appreciated Deion Sanders for voicing the need of the hour, a few couldn’t help but be suspicious of the timing. For them, it was amusing to see the Buffs coach call for a NIL salary cap right after his kids, Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, were done with college.

“Yes! But I love how he waited to talk about it until his kids left school. Funny how that works. But I would have waited too,” they wrote.

The rest, however, believed that Sanders’ idea only looks good in theory. Like most financial regulations, they argued, teams would find a way to circumvent the cap in order to keep their top talents happy. “There would be so many ways schools would get around such a ‘cap’ that it just doesn’t seem feasible,” one observer remarked.

While the debate over NIL regulations will continue for now, it must be acknowledged that Deion Sanders’ latest statement has added a significant perspective to the conversation. His experiences at two HBCUs certainly provide him with a unique vantage point on the challenges and opportunities within college football.

Whether his proposals will lead to concrete changes remains to be seen, but his commitment to advocating for fairness in the sport is unmistakable.