'We're Not An ATM': Deion Sanders Says Colorado Will Not Buy Players

Deion Sanders made a massive splash during his first season at Colorado with the transfer portal, but don't expect his program to become an ATM for potential recruits.

The common theme among college football coaches around the country has been that the sport has turned into 'free agency.' This will play out over the next six weeks as the transfer portal officially opens and players look for new homes.

But as we've seen over the last two years since NIL was introduced, money is something coaches are worried about, in what many have labeled the 'Wild West.' For Deion Sanders, don't expect the Buffaloes to start spending money on top-tier talent, at least not publicly.

"We're not an ATM. That's not going to happen here," Deion Sanders said on Tuesday. "If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes, it's because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education and all the business stuff will be handled on the back end if that's the case. But we are not an ATM. You're not coming here to get rich unless you're really coming here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree, not to come here and be Moneybagg Yo. That's a rapper, right?"

When it comes to a player committing to one school, but continuing to lead other programs on during the recruiting process, Deion Sanders is ready for the NCAA to act.

Deion Sanders Wishes NCAA Would Enact New Recruiting Rule

There aren't many schools that hold recruits to the 'commit and don't visit' rule that Clemson has used since Dabo Swinney took the job. But Colorado head coach Deion Sanders would love for the NCAA to enact a new rule that would keep recruits from visiting other schools if they're committed to one.

Even though this would never happen, there have been discussions about potentially having a summer signing period, which would lock-in a recruit, while also taking the pressure off the student-athlete.

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes jogs around the field before a game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Oregon State Beavers at Folsom Field on November 4 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

But when it comes to a commitment, Deion Sanders noted that these young athletes can't keep their word to a girlfriend, so how would college be any different.

"A kid ain't even faithful to his girlfriend. You think he's gonna be faithful to a school? Come on, man. That's an emotional thing," Sanders noted. "What I wish the NCAA would do, if you're committed somewhere, you can't go on any other visits. If you're committed, that means you're committed. You can't go on no other visits. Why would you be committed but you're still letting kids go on other visits? That means you just playing."

There are certainly a lot of holes to fill on this Colorado roster as the transfer portal opens and high school signing day inches closer. The question now is whether Deion Sanders keeps true to his word when it comes to not getting into a bidding war for a top athlete.