Urban Meyer Sends Blunt Message to Deion Sanders Over Salary Cap originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Urban Meyer didn’t hold back in his response to Deion Sanders’ recent call for a salary cap. This was a topic Coach Prime addressed during Big 12 Media Days about what he would change in college football.
Sanders voiced concern over the lack of competitive balance in college football due to the ever-growing influence of name, image, and likeness deals and the upcoming changes from the NCAA v. House settlement.
The settlement allows schools to directly share up to $20.5 million in revenue with athletes beginning in the 2025–26 season. But Sanders noted that the real money remains in third-party NIL deals, which have no cap and can create major disparity. “You talk about equality,” Sanders said. “All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent. … It’s kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s giving $25, $30 million to a darn freshman class.”
Meyer weighed in on the Triple Option podcast and called it unrealistic given the wide disparity in resources between schools. He dismissed the notion that college athletics could ever implement a professional-style salary cap like the NFL. “I could care less,” Meyer said. “This is, I think, the 780th time we’ve talked about this, but it will never happen.“ He went on to say, “In a perfect world, you’d like it to be like the NFL, but it’s not. It’s like Major League Baseball.”
Meyer compared the college landscape to MLB, where teams with deeper pocket, like the Los Angeles Dodgers who routinely outspend smaller-market clubs. “You’ve got the starting left side of the infield for the Dodgers making more than most major league teams. That’s going to happen,” Meyer added.
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On the other side, Sanders pointed to Meyer’s former team as the example. Ohio State’s rumored $20 million roster spending last year. This was before revenue sharing was even permitted and is evidence that a cap is needed to level the playing field. But Meyer believes that such parity simply isn’t possible due to the vast differences in institutional wealth and overall support.
While Sanders has been honest about the dangers of unchecked spending, especially for programs without major donors, he’s also stressed the importance of player development. As he continues to rebuild Colorado into a contender, he’s focused on preparing his roster to open the season against Georgia Tech.
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For now, the divide between college football’s two-tier system appears to have grown wider.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.