DENVER (AP) 鈥� Nobody has lived on the edge of the risk-reward nature of sports more than over the years.
One place the Colorado coach won鈥檛 go 鈥� gambling on the college game, the likes of which has generated a scandal inside the very conference his team resides. Wagering has jumped to the forefront of college football as won a court order early last week that restored his eligibility and set aside a ban by the on pro and college sports. Colorado plays Big 12 rival Texas Tech on Oct. 3 as part of homecoming festivities.
鈥淪omebody鈥檚 gambling on a sport they鈥檙e playing? You don鈥檛 think something鈥檚 wrong with that?鈥� Sanders said in a recent interview with The Associated Press and before the latest court ruling with Sorsby. 鈥淛ust say that to yourself: This guy on my team is gambling on the sport, in the competition, that we鈥檙e about to go out there and have. Something鈥檚 wrong that.鈥�
Sanders has plenty of thoughts on refining in this day and age of the volatile transfer portal and lucrative name, image and likeness deals. His takes include a salary cap in an effort to even the NIL playing field, hiring a retired coach as commissioner (a ), instituting some sort of an age limit, teams and, of course, a hard pass when it comes to betting (he’s talked to his squad about this topic).
鈥淭he game is still the game,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淭he game is just positioned differently. Money鈥檚 involved, and any time money鈥檚 involved people tend to migrate to what they think they can get out of it, instead of what they could put into it 鈥� and that鈥檚 unfortunate.鈥�
Bladder cancer diagnosis
A year ago, Sanders was going through , which included having a section of his intestine reconstructed to function as a bladder. This being Men鈥檚 Health Month, he’s working with Depend underwear to encourage regular checkups (and launching a program titled 鈥淒epend Wake Up Calls鈥� that allows consumers to receive video messages from Sanders through June).
Earlier this spring, Sanders for a few days as he dealt with blood clots. But he said he’s 鈥渇eeling great. I’ve got my old swagger back.鈥�
Along with it, a new outlook, which includes actually taking vacation time. Sanders recently partnered on a beachfront property in St. Croix with his entering his second season as a quarterback with the Cleveland Browns.
鈥淚 never would鈥檝e done that, because I don鈥檛 go anywhere,鈥� the 58-year-old Sanders said. 鈥淚’m stepping out, just living life.鈥�
Sanders missed football camps last summer in Boulder as he went through cancer treatments. The Buffaloes finished with a 3-9 mark a year after making a bowl game behind Shedeur Sanders and .
This offseason, a more hands-on version of Deion Sanders.
鈥淚 have everybody in that locker room because we said we want them,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause I sat there and watched tape on them and said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 who I want, that鈥檚 what I want. Let鈥檚 go get them.鈥欌��
The new landscape of college football
Sanders found it funny that his heavy reliance on the so many raised eyebrows.
鈥淣ow, everybody鈥檚 doing the same thing that I did,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it was crazy back then, right?鈥�
He’s seen and heard the plans from conferences 鈥� and the legislation proposals from lawmakers 鈥� on how to adapt college football in this new landscape. It鈥檚 a lot to untangle, which is why he advocates for an authoritative figure to help oversee the sport.
鈥淎 guy like Coach Saban and some of the other coaches that have walked away from the game not because they can鈥檛 coach anymore but because they were fed up with how things are operating,鈥� he said.
Sanders also would be in favor of implementing a salary cap (see: NFL).
鈥淪o you can really have a consistency with the game,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淭he thing about the pro game, everybody gets to spend the same amount of money. It鈥檚 who is crafty in regard to business. College football isn’t like that. You may have a team that’s spent $40 million playing against a team who spent $10 million. You darn well know the outcome in that game.鈥�
That leads him to his next point 鈥� .
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have a 30-year-old man playing against a 21-year old man and think it鈥檚 fair,鈥� he said. 鈥淪hould be a transfer rule as well. You鈥檙e teaching kids not to fight through adversity when you’re having kids able to transfer two or three or four times.鈥�
As for NIL, he momentarily pondered if anything might have been different for him had a similar system been in place when he was at Florida State.
鈥淚t probably wouldn鈥檛 have (changed),鈥� said Sanders, a college and pro football hall of famer. 鈥淚’ve had a pretty good run. I鈥檓 still running, too 鈥� still high stepping. I鈥檓 probably in the third quarter of this game (of life) and we鈥檙e winning. We鈥檙e up by about 21. I鈥檓 loving life.鈥�
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