Long before anyone was talking about Miami’s blowout win over Florida A&M, Coach Prime had broken down the exact reason why HBCU payout matchups do not work for either the players or the programs. His warning played out four years later on Thursday night, when Miami beat FAMU (77-7), and the Rattlers walked away with $760,000 for their disappointing loss.
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“Coach Prime said YEARS AGO that HBCU teams shouldn’t take these games,” an X post of Boog read. “Man, you accomplish nothing with these games on either end. Winning team players don’t play a full game, and the losing team players are dismantled!! Miami is up 70-0 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.”
That was the same argument Sanders made years ago while he was the head coach at Jackson State. Back in September 2022, Sanders pointed out that smaller FBS and FCS programs were getting huge paydays, including Appalachian State, which got $1.5M to play Texas A&M, and Marshall got $1.25M to play Notre Dame. He compared those programs to HBCUs, where the universities were settling for what he called “peanuts,” as the payout was around $500,000 to $600,000.
Sanders broke down the real math behind how the payout would be utilized, as he factored in charter flights, hotels, and meals for an entire travel period, citing that the amount barely covers the trip, rather than helping the program.
Yet, for most HBCUs, saying no to these body-bag games is simply not an option. Operating on paper-thin athletic budgets with zero TV revenue, these schools rely on six-figure guarantees just to keep their Olympic sports afloat, fund student scholarships, and fix everyday operational deficits.
Power Five programs hold all the leverage in these deal negotiations, knowing small FCS conferences have no bargaining power to demand $1.5 million checks. Until HBCU leadership unites to set a strict minimum price tag or major programs face scheduling incentives to play fair, smaller schools will keep signing up to be sacrificial lambs just to keep their athletic departments alive.
“If we gone get our butt kicked, shouldn’t it be worth it?” Sanders said. “How in the world are we settling for the peanuts in the little minute droppings that they giving us when everybody’s darn near $500,000-600,000?”
During that time, he pointed to the business side of the payout scenario that doesn’t fare well for the players who are prone to injuries. Southern got $760,000 to play LSU and lost 65-17 in September 2022, Alabama State got $590,000 to play UCLA and lost 45-7 in September 2022, and Florida A&M got $450,000 to lose 56-24 at North Carolina in August 2022. Sanders believed that such games are more about losses and fewer benefits for the students, instead of providing opportunities to play.
The recent Morgan State-Arizona State game also brought the debate back into focus, as Morgan State collected a $600,000 payout. But the game eventually leaned towards Arizona State (70-7), and both coaches agreed to cut five minutes from the fourth quarter with the Bears losing by 63 points.
Sanders believes that such a tradeoff eventually takes a physical toll on the student-athletes, as he questioned the real beneficiaries of such payouts and whether the payout is worth the final result of the game.
“You can negotiate above that… have something make it worth your team’s while,” Sanders said. “Because you’re going to lose players.”
The Hurricanes’ win over the Rattlers was a reminder that not much has changed. FAMU took home $760,000, but suffered a lopsided loss, which prompted both coaching staffs to shorten the fourth quarter by five minutes as the quarter totalled ten minutes. Though Sanders has urged HBCUs to seek a payout of around $750,000 to $1M for such games, the imbalance still remains.