Deion Sanders on NIL landscape: 'NIL is not a problem with me, collectives are'

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has no problem with college football players profiting off of their Name, Image and Likeness. However, collectives are another story.

Sanders believes that collectives are hurting the sport as players are getting incentives to choose a certain school before ever playing a down of college football.

He recently spoke with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt about the NIL landscape.

“NIL is not a problem with me, collectives are. Let’s talk about NIL – Name, Image and Likeness. What kid out of high school… that is notable enough that a CEO of a major company is going to lay it on the line for a kid that ain’t nobody know. So it’s not NIL,” Deion Sanders said.

“Collectives, you could be Tom, Dick, Harry and Larry and you just put a bag together, boosters or whatever, whoever does it, and try to solicit these kids to come to your university. Who is that helping? I want the kid to get compensated, I want the kid to be straight, by all means. But you’ve gotta balance the fine line. Is he still going to want it like that when you’ve just given him that and he didn’t have to earn it?”

Sanders added that in an ideal world, players would be paid based off of their performance and with incentives for hitting certain goals, rather than being offered money through a collective while still in high school.

He believes that what is currently happening with collectives is bad for players and schools.

“These kids have agents, man. Not only agents, they’ve got their homies who’s representing them, who’s just trying to use them and playing them. They don’t go to the school that they should go to. They don’t even ask questions about the defense or the offense or the scheme or the personnel or how are you going to use me,” Sanders said. “If [getting paid is] your prerogative, your first thing, I don’t want you. I want you to chase the NFL bag. That’s what’s going to sustain you.”

Finally, Sanders said he wants players to get paid what they are worth based on how they perform in college, while also being set up to have success in the NFL.

“I want them to be happy. I want them to be comfortable. I don’t want them to be filthy rich. I’m not going to lie to you,” Sanders said. “Because I don’t want [NIL] taking away from [football]. … I want you to get that NFL bag. I want you to get that Jalen Hurts bag, that Lamar Jackson bag. I want you to get to that point, or even a quarter of that.”