Deion Sanders criticizes NCAA, says ‘student-athlete’ term is obsolete

• Deion Sanders stated college players are now ‘athlete-students,’ not ‘student-athletes.’
• Sanders called for a commissioner to govern college football and regulate NIL compensation.
• He criticized the NCAA transfer portal’s timing, which created challenges for academic departments.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders wants a commissioner to govern the new Wild West of college football and declared that college players are no longer student-athletes but instead are athlete-students.

Sanders said this on ESPN’s First Take on Friday, Feb. 6, after traveling to California’s Bay Area to do media interviews at the site of Super Bowl 60.  One of the show’s panelists, Ryan Clark, used the term “student-athlete” to ask him about how times have changed in college football, leading Sanders to interject and correct him.

“It’s athlete-student,” Sanders said. “Ain’t no student-athlete no more.”

Sanders noted his team recently had the highest grade-point average in the history of Colorado football in 2024 (3.011). But he criticized the timing of the transfer portal this year, when players could enter it from Jan. 2-16. Colorado started spring-semester classes Jan. 8, putting the school in a crunch as it tried to enroll more than 40 new transfers. The NCAA’s Division I Administrative Committee adopted the transfer portal dates last fall.

“How is it about the student-athletes when we have a portal at the time that we had?” Sanders asked. “Now our academic departments have to work their butts off even to get all these kids enrolled. That was tremendous. That was a tremendous task. And I thank our CU department for doing that. But (the NCAA is) not thinking about the academic part of the students. They’re thinking about the athletic parts, because that’s the part that provokes the most money.”

Deion Sanders calls for college football commissioner

Sanders also was asked about the state of college football in general with players earning money for their names, images and likenesses (NIL). He criticized how schools with the wealthiest donors have an edge and called for something similar to the NFL, which shares revenue with teams and is overseen by a commissioner. He said he loves that players are compensated but there “should be rules and guidelines for that compensation.”

“What the NIL is presenting is not sustainable,’ Sanders said. ‘Oftentimes it seems like you see the same consistency of teams winning and winning and winning because of the finances that some of the boosters and the donors can give. But that needs to be fixed, and we need some type of commissioner. And we need somebody to step up and make sure we’re doing this thing in unison, so that you don’t have certain teams that’s able to do well beyond this team. And you know this team is not going to win because of the lack thereof of finances.’

Deion Sanders has new distaste for NFL

Last year around this time, Sanders had flirted with the Dallas Cowboys when they had an opening for a new head coach. He has said before that he’d only be interested in such a job if he could coach his sons. But after what happened with his son Shedeur last year, he said he has no interest.

“None whatsoever,” he said. “What transpired with my son last year, ain’t no way in the world. Nah.”

Shedeur Sanders was projected as a first-round draft pick but fell all the way to the fifth round before getting picked by the Cleveland Browns. Some critics of the team believed the Browns weren’t giving Shedeur a fair shot until injuries paved the way for him to finish the season as the starting quarterback.

“I know what’s behind the curtains,” Sanders said. “I know all the bull junk that transpired.”

But he promised this year will be different for his family, including his Colorado team, which finished 3-9 in 2025.

“We back,” he said. “This year, ‘26 is ours. We’re gonna dominate this year from the top to the bottom.”

Who does Deion Sanders predict to win Super Bowl 60?

Sanders’ lack of interest in the NFL also apparently extends to Sunday’s Super Bowl. Before he finished his appearance on the show, Sanders was asked for his prediction on who would win the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

“I don’t care,” he said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com