Let’s face it. Deion Sanders has a thing for HBCUs and FCS schools. After all, he coached Jackson State for three seasons before transferring to the FBS with the Colorado Buffaloes in 2023. The success he found in his second year in Boulder with a 9-3 record is far from his only wish. While he expressed his love for college football, he still wishes to see some changes. 

Deion Sanders wasn’t supposed to say this until his press conference speech, as he told Rich Eisen on his show. But in his appearance on YouTube’s The Rich Eisen Show on December 21, he made an exception and blurted out his vision. He said, “If you take a kid from an FCS school, HBCU school or that level, you should compensate the school as well, not just the kid.”

The FCS is comparatively less competitive than the FBS. But the subdivision produces elite players from time to time. One of the best examples of how an FCS player can impact the FBS is Miami’s Cam Ward. He was an FCS player, an Incarnate Word product who went on to become a Heisman Trophy finalist this season. For Deion Sanders, the FCS is like a “farm system” and when you take something out of it, you pay something for it. 

A perplexed Eisen asked who should be the one handing out that compensation. And Deion Sanders replied, “It should be compensated from the school that takes the kids. You should give something to it. Like the Negro Leagues back in the day. That’s why that kind of fell apart.” The 57-year-old’s reference to the Negro League Baseball is understandable. And maybe, he’s just concerned that history could repeat itself. 

Deion Sanders doesn’t want history to repeat

After the plight that black players had to go through in the early 1900s, Deion Sanders has become wary. The Negro League Baseball was a 1920 group founded by black players who weren’t allowed to join Major League Baseball. It became very popular thanks to the loyal fan base hyping the talented athletes. The group soon gained traction and the MLB eventually wanted to sign these players. 

By the 1950s, the pro baseball league started taking these phenomenal players to their teams. It gradually led to lack of players leading to its ultimate disbandment. The black-owned sports enterprises were the most affected. Of course, the FCS and HBCU situation may not undergo a similar drastic experience like the Negro League. But that’s the possible danger that could creep up if the top players are taken from the schools without proper financial means to find a replacement.

Do you think Deion Sanders will get his wish granted? Or do you think this one will remain unfulfilled?