Deion Sanders' Strong Take On Texas Tech's Insane NIL Spending Spree

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have made headlines this offseason with their work in the transfer portal and on the high school recruiting trail.

Aided by an influx of NIL (name, image and likeness) money, coach Joey McGuire owns college football's second-ranked incoming transfer class (per 247Sports) with 21 commits and has been nearly as dominant in the 2026 recruiting cycle. Most notably, class of 2026 five-star offensive tackle commit Felix Ojo rocked the NIL landscape last week when he landed a three-year, $5.1 million guaranteed revenue-share agreement with Texas Tech.

A longtime friend of McGuire due to their Texas high school football backgrounds, Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders was asked about Texas Tech's impressive work in the transfer portal during his Big 12 football media days press conference on Wednesday.

Deion Sanders Feelings Texas Tech's NIL Spending Spree College Football Salary Cap Colorado Buffaloes Transfer Portal — Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

"Joey's got some money!" Sanders said. "He's spending that money! I love it. Once upon a time, you guys were talking junk about me going in that portal. Now, when everybody goes in the portal, it's OK. It's cool when they do it, but it's a problem when I do it. Ain't that a rap song? First of all, let's get this straight: I love me some Joey McGuire, one of the best coaches in our conference. I've seen him excel from high school all the way to where he is now, and he's a winner. I absolutely love it. I love him because he's a man of standard."

Sanders was initially pointing to the backlash he received during his first offseason at Colorado when he cleaned house with over 50 incoming transfers. That ultimately led to success in Boulder, and first-year head coaches (plus McGuire) are now copying Sanders' blueprint this offseason, including Purdue's Barry Odom (54 transfer commits), West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez (52) and even North Carolina's Bill Belichick (41).

NIL and revenue-sharing money play a significant role in determining the number of players a team can add each cycle. In Texas Tech's case, the Red Raiders have benefited from a number of wealthy boosters donating to the program, including billionaire Cody Campbell. According to USA Today Sports, Campbell and his donor team have $55 million in NIL contracts across Texas Tech's entire athletics program. Colorado isn't quite there, to say the least.

"Can you (McGuire) send a few of those dollars to us so we can get some of those players too?" Sanders joked.

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At the same time, "Coach Prime" shared his support for a salary cap in college football, adding that the wealthiest programs are ultimately the ones that reach the College Football Playoff.

“I wish it was a cap," Sanders said. "The top of the line player makes this, and if you’re not that type of guy, you know you are not going to make that. That’s what the NFL does. The problem is you got a guy that is not that darn good, but he could go to another school, and that gives him a half a million dollars. You can’t compete with that. It don’t make sense.”