Deion Sanders says CFB needs salary cap

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders believes college football should implement a salary cap to increase the sport's competitiveness in its new era.

"I wish there was a cap," Sanders said Wednesday at Big 12 media days, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "The top-of-the-line player makes this, and if you're not that type of guy, you know you're not going to make that. That's what the NFL does.

"The problem is, you got a guy that's not that darn good, but he could go to another school, and they give him half a million dollars. You can't compete with that. And it don't make sense."

Sanders backed his comments by noting that the schools spending more money on players will have more success in the College Football Playoff.

"You understand darn near why they're in the playoffs," he added. "It's kind of hard to compete with somebody who's giving $25 million to $30 million to a freshman class. It's crazy."

The landscape of college football has undergone significant changes with the introduction of the NIL deals in 2021 and the House v. NCAA settlement taking effect this year. While the settlement establishes a system that allows schools to share revenue and pay athletes directly within a cap, there is no cap limiting NIL deals, notes Sports Illustrated's Tyler Lauletta.