Deion Sanders won't lure recruits to Colorado with money

May 2024 · 3 minute read

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Deion Sanders is adamant that money wouldn’t be the way the Colorado football program will recruit players. 

Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have been lucrative for some members of the Buffaloes — including Deion’s son Shedeur — and the program’s high profile with Sanders has helped gain national attention.

However, Sanders said, money won’t be the way that he gets kids to commit to Colorado. 

“We’re not an ATM. That’s not going to happen here,” Sanders said during a press conference Tuesday. “If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes, it’s because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education and all the business stuff will be handled on the back end if that’s the case.

“But we are not an ATM. You’re not coming here to get rich unless you’re really coming here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree. Not to come here and be Moneybagg Yo. That’s a rapper, right?”

Sanders used the transfer portal leading up to this season in order to massively overhaul the roster after he took over as head coach. 

The Buffaloes will have a number of holes to fill going into next year, which Sanders said was something that “everybody in the country knows what we need and how much we need.” 

It would seem that Colorado’s biggest needs are on the offensive line and creating some more depth for the program.

While Shedeur Sanders has starred with 3,230 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, the Buffaloes are allowing 4.91 sacks per game, which is ranked last in the nation. 

Sanders exited after last Friday’s game after getting hit early and often in the first half against Washington State.

After starting off 3-0 this season, Colorado has dropped seven of its last eight games.

While the Buffaloes’ needs aren’t exactly a secret, Deion Sanders said the team won’t get caught up in a bidding war for players in the transfer portal, nor would they “buy anybody whatsoever.”

“We want players that want us,” Sanders said. “Trying to convince somebody and doing that, being held hostage financially, we ain’t with that.”

Colorado has nine players, which includes a pair of four-star prospects, committed to its 2024 class, putting it at 69th nationally. 

But Sanders also seen several players de-commit from the program, and he expounded on his belief that the NCAA should be a little more stringent when it comes to recruits’ words on going to a specific school. 

“A kid ain’t even faithful to his girlfriend. You think [he’s] gonna be faithful to a school? Come on, man. That’s an emotional thing,” Sanders said. “What I wish the NCAA would do, if you’re committed somewhere, you can’t go on any other visits. If you’re committed, that means you’re committed. 

“You can’t go on no other visits. Why would you be committed but you’re still letting kids go on other visits? That means you just playing.”

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