Deion Sanders, former Atlanta Falcons player and current head coach to the Jackson State University football team, discussed what problems he thinks the NCAA will deal with in the upcoming years.
NIL has been a prominent discussion in college athletics, and this year, the NCAA instated that student-athletes can profit off their name, image, and likeness. While the athletes certainly deserve to be paid for their hard work, some members of the community have noticed a shift in ethics.
Sanders, who has been working with Jackson State for over two years, pointed out that NIL deals can conflict with the actual advancement of athletic ability and instead encourages companies to exploit students to make a profit.
“NCAA, you’ve got a little problem. Let me explain. See, with the NIL, which really ain’t NIL because it ain’t no name, image, and likeness, it’s just pay-per-view right now,” the head coach said in a video posted on social media. “That’s what they’re doing at the big boys, little boys. We can’t compete with that. But anyway, you’ve got a problem.”
Deion Sanders makes suggestions on how to improve the NCAA
In addition, Sanders went on to point out the disparity between coaches and athletes. He discussed the fact that when a student is making more money than a staff member, this can cause a rift between the players and coaches.
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“When you start paying athletes like they’re professionals, you get athletes acting like they’re professionals,” he shared. “And you don’t have staffs large enough and equipped enough to handle a young man with money. Let me go deeper. Handle a young man that’s making more money than some of the coaches on staff.”
As a general note to improving the problems within the NCAA, Sanders suggested that they invest money into coaching staff and quality hires. He argued that if a proper coaching staff is installed, there will be fewer issues with students, and the athletes will have more discipline.
“I suggest to you to allow college teams to hire more qualified men. Qualified,” he stated. “That can handle these young men that’s getting this money.”
Although the future of the NCAA remains to be seen, Sanders suggested that the organization will not look bright in the upcoming years. In the caption of his social media post, the coach addressed the NCAA with the sentiments, “I’m trying to help before it blows up in your face. Money Makes You More Of Who You Really Are.”
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