Pro Football Hall of Famer and Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders has never been one to hold his tongue. During his weekly presser on Monday, Sanders let it be known that he believes HBCU programs should demand more money to as he put it, “get their butt kicked” by Power Five programs.
Coach Prime proceeded to read off the payouts some HBCU programs received to take on those Power Fives.
SWAC rival Florida A&M traveled to Chapel Hill to open the season and received $450K to lose 59-24. Southern traveled fifteen minutes down interstate 110 to face the LSU Tigers and took a 65-17 whipping in exchange for a $760K payday.
The Alabama State Hornets went west to face the UCLA Bruins and received $590K to get throttled at the Rose Bowl. In all, that’s $1.8 million for three beatdowns of outmatched but financially strapped HBCU programs.
Thank you Lord for allowing @nfl scouts to come to @GoJSUTigersFB practice on a daily basis to witness the Pro Caliber players we have. #CoachPrime pic.twitter.com/qkIsOzfa15
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) September 14, 2022
Coach Prime says HBCU programs should want more for taking the pounding.
“If we gone get our butt kicked, shouldn’t it be worth it,” asked Coach Prime. “How in the world are we settling for the peanuts and the little minute droppings that they’re giving us when everybody’s darn near $500,000-$600,000?”
Sanders also bristled at the amount of money some Group of Five programs received to play other Power Five programs.
Three Sun Belt Conference Schools Get Paid And Pull Upsets
Last weekend Appalachian State, Marshall and Georgia Southern all represented the unheralded Sun Belt Conference, winning road games at No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 8 Notre Dame and unranked Nebraska, respectively.
The three schools not only took home program-defining wins, but a bag that totaled $4 million dollars. In fact, Georgia Southern’s win cost the Cornhuskers $16.4 million over the weekend, as their 45-42 upset of Nebraska led to the firing of embattled head coach Scott Frost. AD Trev Alberts wanted him gone so badly he paid him a $15 million buyout, which is twice what it would have been ($7.5 million) if they’d waited until Oct. 1.
Sanders feels that HBCUs should hold out for that type of money before signing on the dotted line to take these beatdowns. But those HBCU programs are probably just happy to make something to help with their program, and don’t want to risk missing out on a payday all together.
Last season JSU was paid $300K for a game at Louisiana-Monroe, a game the Tigers lost 12-7.
Sanders Wants HBCUs To Stand Together In This Fight
In an effort to not accept payouts that won’t really do much for revenue purposes, Sanders announced that he doesn’t want HBCUs settling for the lowball prices they have taken for too long. He wants to come to the negotiating table and have the HBCU price tag start at $750K. He’s also adamant as to where the funds should go.
“The millions should go directly to your football department. They’re out there getting their butts kicked, not the rest of the school. They’re out there getting injured, and then you want to spread it out amongst the school. I don’t agree with that.”
“If they’re out there playing, they should reap the benefits of the sacrifices that they’re making. I just don’t like what I’m seeing.”
This is the latest in Coach Prime calling out longstanding practices as it pertains to how HBCU athletics is managed internally and perceived. He recently called out the different classics and how they’re not beneficial to his program, even pulling his Tigers out of the 29-year Southern Heritage Classic versus Tennessee State.
Something tells us Coach Prime is nowhere near done. He’s always advocating for HBCUs and trying to gain more resources and respect for the schools and their revenue-generating student athletes.
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