Colorado head coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is calling out the NCAA for ignoring the financial challenges HBCUs face in today’s player movement era. As college athletes capitalize on NIL deals and transfer opportunities like never before, Sanders is pushing for a rule change that would directly benefit the schools he believes are being left behind.
Deion Sanders Wants Compensation System for HBCUs Losing Players
Before transforming Colorado into a national storyline, Sanders spent three seasons turning heads at Jackson State. He saw firsthand how HBCU programs invest time and resources into developing players, only to lose them to bigger schools with more money and exposure. Now, he wants the NCAA to step in and make that process more equitable.
“If we take a kid from an HBCU, we should have to compensate that school, man,” Sanders told USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “You’ve taken a kid and not given them nothing for it. That’s not fair, because they can’t compete with you in terms of the solicitation of the kid.”
Sanders compared the current situation to the fall of the Negro Leagues in baseball — stripped of talent, but left with nothing in return. “It’s almost like how the Negro Leagues were dissolved,” Sanders said. “They started taking [Black players in the Major Leagues], and no one compensated the Negro Leagues.”
He believes a compensation model would give HBCUs a fighting chance, not just to stay afloat, but to grow. “If you take them but compensate the schools, now we’ve still got breath,” he added. “Now I can use that to get something else.”
Sanders isn’t venting, he’s giving the NCAA a blueprint.
Sanders Blasts NCAA: ‘Just Washed Their Hands’ — Calls for NIL Chaos Fix
Sanders offered another pitch for reform regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). As debates continue over its rules, lawsuits swirl, and the NCAA’s grip on college athletics loosens, Sanders is calling for structure where there is currently none.
His son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, was one of the biggest names in college football and is widely projected to be a top pick in this week’s NFL Draft. With Shedeur navigating the high-stakes world of endorsements, national exposure, and on-field expectations, Deion has seen firsthand how uneven the current system can be.
“There’s a lot going on in college football, and the NCAA has just washed their hands and they walk away,” Sanders said. “As long as they collect those checks, they walk away instead of saying, ‘OK, we’ve got to do something about this.’ Because if you don’t, it’s going to keep spiraling.”
Sanders’ comments come as a federal judge weighs final approval of a $2.8 billion settlement from a class-action lawsuit that could reshape athlete compensation. Under the terms, schools would be allowed to pay athletes directly — up to $20.5 million per year. On the surface, that sounds like progress. But for Sanders, it doesn’t fix the core issue: Third-party NIL deals remain unchecked.
“There should be some kind of cap,” Sanders said. “Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect. Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same. There should be a cap, and every team gets this, and you should be able to spend that.”
In other words, he’s calling for a salary cap similar to the one used in the NFL — a structure that would provide clearer limits and a more level playing field. Sanders even acknowledged that different programs could have adjusted caps based on conference and revenue level, but the principle remains the same: College football needs guardrails.
That perspective comes with extra weight considering Shedeur’s rise. As one of the highest-profile players in the nation and a soon-to-be NFL quarterback, his NIL value soared. But Deion argues that while players like Shedeur thrived, most programs can’t compete with the spending power of top-tier schools.