Deion Sanders says NFL sees no value in spring football
Deion Sanders hasn't been shy about sharing his opinion. Whether it's sports related or life advice, Coach Prime keeps it honest and real.
The Colorado Buffaloes coach was asked his thoughts about the state of football, especially with more games being added over time. Sanders sees the need for preservation in the game to add outside activities in the off-season for youth sports.
"Football is not designed to be an all year-sport," Sanders told 247Sports reporter Carl Reed Jr. "It's too physical. It's too taxing on the body. It's not designed for that. You can play basketball all year round. You can play baseball year-round. But football, that is not designed for all year-round because if it was the NFL, it would've done it and monetized it."
Sanders isn't wrong. The drop-off with spring football leagues was noticeable by the low ratings. The XFL's regular season averaged 810,000 viewers per game on the ESPN brands, including on ABC. The USFL did a bit better on FOX with an average audience of 1.1 million, but it's nowhere near the NFL's least-watched games.
"When you don't see them doing it at the highest level, there's a problem," Sanders added.
Coach Prime went on to tell Reed about his well-known recruiting tactic of finding multi-sport athletes. It comes naturally considering his background as a tri-sport competitor in high school. Sanders will likely be the only player in history to appear in a Super Bowl and World Series.
Colorado is a week away from the 2023 season opener with 17th-ranked TCU. The Buffs will travel to Fort Worth with 82 new players, including 65 of those coming to Boulder via the transfer portal. A record in both cases with Sanders being the mastermind behind CU's roster reconstruction.