Deion Sanders Addresses NIL Questions Surrounding Colorado Football

Sanders has been a critic of the rise of NIL in college football, expressing the desire for a cap limit just as the NFL does, while speaking at the Big 12 media day. Despite voicing his views on wanting equity in NIL, Sanders does not believe that money has anything to do with Colorado’s record.

“We can’t blame it on the money. … We can’t blame it on that,” Sanders said. “We’ve played good football except for one darn game. Houston, we were horrible. We didn’t play well. The other two games, we had an opportunity to win those games, to win those games against ranked opponents. We just didn’t get it done.”

The week 3 game against Houston was the team’s worst loss of the season, as the Buffaloes lost by 16 points. The other two losses, against the No. 17 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and against No. 23 BYU Cougars, were both within one score, and the Buffaloes had a chance to either tie or win on their final offensive drive.

With that, Sanders does not believe the team's struggles have to do with money, just that the team has to play better. Being within one score of BYU and Georgia Tech, both teams who are currently ranked, shows that the Buffaloes do have what it takes to be successful, but have finish games strong.

While the Colorado coach argued for a cap, he called back to that statement and reiterated that money is not the team’s issue.

“We can’t cry, ‘We don’t have the money’,” Sanders continued. “It’s not that. It’s just at the conclusion of the season, when you look back on things, when you look over your shoulder, you’re gonna see what we said in that media days: some of the top teams are going to be there, and this is the commonality that they share. But there’s some great coaches out there coaching way above that. And prayerfully, that don’t catch up with them.”

Colorado Struggles To Find Rhythm

The Colorado Buffaloes have the talent to win games, but are not executing what they have to on the field to win. With that, the 2-3 start to the season cannot be blamed on NIL.

The Buffaloes have faced two ranked opponents and were in both of the games until the end. Against BYU, Colorado played well in the first half, and it looked like there was a chance the Buffaloes would talk about with an upset win. The Buffaloes have to find a way to win the close games.

Many of the self-inflicted errors, such as defensive penalties giving the opponent a new set of downs, are not something that would be different with money. From a coaching standpoint, time management has also been something that Colorado has struggled with this season. It has led to Colorado running out of time on their final drive when they have a chance to tie the score or win the game.

Colorado has already faced two ranked opponents, with two more who are currently in the Top-25 on the schedule. The Buffaloes have a tough road ahead, but they are proving they can keep games close, and this Colorado team could pull off some big upsets this year.

The Colorado Buffaloes will next face the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. MT.