Deion Sanders Offers Solution to Help Fix 'Unsustainable' College Football Environment

With the transfer portal, NIL funding disparities and other issues wreaking havoc across the country, college football is at a potential tipping point.

Affluent programs are on the verge of dominating the sport for years to come, and the risk of losing fans will only grow if new rules aren't implemented soon. Many in positions of power agree that change is needed, but little has so far been done to correct the sport's worrisome trends — particularly in the NIL space.

Deion Sanders Solution Fix Unsustainable College Football NIL Colorado Buffaloes Commissioner Big 12 Transfer Portal Boulder — Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

While appearing on ESPN's "First Take" on Friday, Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders shared some of his greatest concerns for college football and offered a potential solution.

"It's tough," Sanders said. "With what the NIL is presenting, it's not sustainable. 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. That needs to be fixed."

@DeionSanders weighs in on the current state of college football and what NIL has changed in today’s game ✍️ pic.twitter.com/uUy5Y2Btzq
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 6, 2026

Outside of the NCAA as a whole, college football operates without a true overarching leader. Each conference has a commissioner, but that has only led to imbalances within the sport.

"We need some type of commissioner," Sanders said. "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. You know this team is not gonna win because of the lack thereof of finances. I love it that the kids are compensated, but there should be rules and guidelines for that compensation to hold them accountable for that."

"Athlete-Student" Taking Over

Sanders then shared his viewpoint that student-athletes have become athlete-students, meaning athletics have taken precedence over academics. Last month's transfer portal window (Jan. 2-16) was a shining example of how players' athletic careers were prioritized above their ability to transfer schools and enroll in classes in a timely manner.

"It's athlete-student. It's ain't no student-athlete no more," Sanders said. "I'm thankful that we achieved the highest GPA in the history of Colorado, the CU football program, in the last few semesters, but how is it about the student-athletes when we have a portal at the time that we have. Our academics department has to work their butts off to get all these kids enrolled."

MORE: Colorado Recruit Xavier McDonald Announces Massive Flip on National Signing Day

MORE: Colorado Buffaloes Emerge As Losers of National Signing Day

MORE: The Biggest Thing to Know About Colorado on National Signing Day

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE

At the end of the day, Sanders noted that college football's current rules largely come down to making more money.

"They're not thinking about the academic part of the student," Sanders said. "They're thinking about the athletic part because that's the part that provokes the most money for the NCAA."

Colorado has so far added over 40 transfers, who were all tasked with getting enrolled for the spring semester. There may not be a perfect portal window, but Sanders certainly isn't in support of the current January window.