The Deion Sanders effect is in full effect in college football

“The network is your net worth”

– Every insufferable guy said at least once in his life while declaring himself a sigma male.

In college football, that has never been truer. With NIL deals becoming a reality this season, the proximity of marketable players only makes it more marketable. I mean, think about it State Farm commercial BJ Raji worked with Aaron Rodgers a few years ago. Do you really think Raji would have gotten this opportunity if he wasn’t on the same team as Rodgers? Heeeeeeeell no!

We see it all the time on social media. A popular influencer explodes, and suddenly, so do those close to him. They start building their own brand and it makes them money just because they’re in someone else’s spotlight. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is that if you want exposure and a shot at big money and career opportunities, it’s incredibly important to put yourself in a position to be noticed. With Deion Sanders at the helm of the Colorado football program next year, the spotlight won’t be any brighter.

A number of college stars have already expressed interest in joining Prime in Colorado.

Trey Sanders is a former 5-star recruit who played four years at Alabama. He played well when he was healthy, but a series of injuries derailed his college career, and now the opportunity to play a starring role in an offense that deserves national attention has arisen, and Sanders isn’t going to pass it up. Other players have already expressed interest in joining the CU team. And many more players are likely to follow. Even if their long-term plan isn’t to stay in Colorado, it gives these players a chance to get playing time, time on the national stage, brand name contracts and attention from NFL scouts. Why wouldn’t they be used?

Prime has a few downsidescoach hire. The most obvious problem is the lack of scholarship opportunities for CU commits. In fact, it has already begun.

The influx of interested student-athletes from the transfer portal has resulted in fewer roster spots, fewer opportunities for playing time for incoming freshmen, and less scholarship money. These kids, who spent the last few months sure where they were going to spend their freshman year of college, now have to look elsewhere for scholarships. They may have wasted months of their lives expecting to play in Colorado when that was no longer an option.

Of course, this gives students the opportunity to get scholarships to other schools that students transfer from, but let’s be honest, someone who got a scholarship to Colorado probably wouldn’t get a scholarship to Clemson or Alabama or any other school. elite soccer schools in America that these players are transferring from.

The thing is, while Deion Sanders may not be the best coaching hire, he is very likely to turn the Colorado football program around in his first year. Straight up asked his players to enter the transfer portal. Although he framed this statement around a message of machismo, he essentially claimed that some of his players would not be able to handle the changes he was planning, more likely among the current CU players are many very famous stars who want to go to Boulder and Play for Sanders, pushing current players down the depth charts.

NIL’s money is about grabbing that spotlight and becoming a marketable player. Disenfranchised players across the country must seize this opportunity to play for a head coach that every reporter is rooting for. If Colorado does well, the credit may go to Sanders, but then reporters start looking at the students playing, and that’s a great recipe for more football success. It’s not rocket science, just a natural progression of the post-NIL world. We better get used to it.