Taking over a downtrodden Colorado Buffaloes program, new head coach Deion Sanders understands fully the challenges that are ahead of him rebuilding this traditional Pac-12 doormat.
Sanders caught up with FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Patrick Allen at Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl 57 in Phoenix, courtesy of Oikos. Fascinated by his entry into the Power Five, Verderame asked Sanders about the changing landscape of college football, whether that be the transfer portal, realignment or NIL. The greatest cornerback of all time had a fantastic answer about NIL, as well as collectives.
It was pretty straight-forward, but here is where it gets good with Sanders opining on collectives.
Sanders would finish his thought on collectives with this last little bit about his Colorado program.
Here is the interview in its entirety between Allen, Verderame and Sanders while at Radio Row.
Deion Sanders opines on NIL and collectives as he takes over Colorado Buffaloes
Sanders did a fantastic job of explaining in laymen’s terms the fundamental differences between NIL and collectives. If you are not paying attention to it, you might use the terms interchangeably, but that would not be correct. Sanders is right that NILs are virtually worthless for a player coming out of high school.
The biggest issue programs like Colorado must navigate is that the feckless NCAA did not put forth any safeguards regarding collectives. It is truly the Wild, Wild West out there. For now, we are dealing in a truly capitalistic marketplace in the talent acquisition space in college sports, for better or worse.
The last part of Sanders’ comments on collectives is probably the most intriguing. Although the transfer portal, NIL and collectives will go along way towards bringing the Colorado football program back from the dead, he does not want players who want to take shortcuts. He would rather have guys who are hungry for what’s next rather than guys who want their big payday now.
Overall, this seems to be in line with what it is going to take to succeed at the highest levels at Colorado. You cannot microwave this overnight and expect a winning product immediately. This was an 1-11 team a year ago, arguably the worst program in the entire Power Five. Should the Buffs go 6-6 in year one, then that would be a huge accomplishment for everyone to celebrate.
Sanders was the perfect hire for Colorado and he is exactly what college football needs right now.
