Deion Sanders has been one of the most polarizing figures in college football this season.
After taking over the Colorado Buffaloes program that had won just a single game the year before, Sanders built a new roster through the transfer portal and cranked out four wins, while his team remained competitive in a handful of its other contests.
Love him or hate him, the former NFL star has created a buzz around the University that hasn’t been there in more than a decade. According to On3, Sanders has made massive strides on the recruiting trail as well.
There isn’t a better self-marketer in all of sports, and now the University of Colorado is giving students an option to take a legitimate course to learn the magic beyond Sanders’ tactics
In December, Colorado University announced they were launching a course around Deion Sanders.
Colorado has just announced a new elective course named after Coach Prime. pic.twitter.com/CwnIK3bg4i
— Jimmie Searfoss (@JimmieSearfoss) December 12, 2023
“The course will focus on helping college athletes explore how to manage their time in college, prepare for career, manage their celebrity, identify when best to speak into their profit center, advocate for worthy causes, coordinate with sports agents and how to interact with journalists and the media,” the school writes in the course description.
People across college football have already been studying Deion Sanders’ bold approach when it comes to marketing himself and his program, so maybe this shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Deion Sanders Admits He’s Received Death Threats While Speaking To Class
With winter break in the rearview mirror, classes are in session again at the University of Colorado so students are getting their first chance to learn in “Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership.”
He served as a recent guest lecturer and explained how insane the world of college football has become.
His visit to the class was caught on camera for his “Well Off Media” YouTube channel. In one of his first comments to the class, Sanders revealed he’s received death threats and now opts to travel with security.
“We get death threats, so you know, we have to bring security,” Sanders told the class with a laugh. “I’m dead serious, too; I’m not lying.”
Deion Sanders eventually launched into a discussion about name, image and likeness – a new platform where student-athletes have the ability to profit off of their stardom on and off the field. Sanders made it clear NIL isn’t exactly what everyone thinks it is.
“NIL is not really what you think it is. All these kids are not getting NIL. These kids are getting collectives,” he said, via Football Scoop. “Collectives, if we took an offering up in this classroom, we passed the bucket like the church and you put this collection plate, and you put your collective in and we say, ‘You know what, we’ve got 10 players up here, let’s divide that. That player right there should get $10, that player right there should get $20.’ That’s a collective.”
After they failed to name athletes beyond Shedeur Sanders and Caitlin Clark – among a few others – the former NFL star admitted NIL isn’t functioning the way it should.
“This ain’t NIL,” he said. “That’s all you’ve seen. All these college athletes, and you named five (football players). This is not NIL, this is not the day of NIL. That’s what it is supposed to be, but it’s collectives. That’s where it went wrong.”
He went on to suggest that athletes aren’t earning what they could be in the given market because of these collectives and admitted the system is wrong, with companies only wanting to put money up for high value proven talent.
Deion Sanders isn’t the only one to speak out about the issues with the NIL and transfer portal in today’s college football landscape. It feels like a resolution is coming sooner than later.