DEION SANDERS ON TEAMS GETTING PAID TO LOSE

Summary

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Earn Your Leisure Podcast

Episode: DEION SANDERS ON TEAMS GETTING PAID TO LOSE

Hosts: Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings | Guest: Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders

Date: November 22, 2025

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode features Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders discussing the business side of collegiate athletics, with a particular focus on “money games”—when smaller programs are paid to play powerhouse schools—and the structural inequalities historically Black colleges face in sports funding, facilities, and conference realignment. The conversation is candid, energetic, and deeply illuminating about the realities beneath college football’s glossy surface.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. College Conference Realignment & Motives

• Financial Incentives Over Logic
  • The hosts and Coach Prime discuss the nonsensical geography of recent conference alignments, pointing out it’s all about chasing revenue via football.

    “No, they ain’t [going crazy]. They going money.”
    — Coach Prime [04:08]

• Aspirations for Power Conferences
  • Coach Prime wishes for Jackson State to move to a power conference, but stresses the need for readiness, especially in building depth.

    “If I'm going to jump, let's bungee jump. Let's do the dog on thing... I got to get the Travis's there too. Okay. Up front on both sides... That’s how the big boys could get you... So you got to beef that up if you want to compete.”
    — Coach Prime [04:20–05:14]

2. The Realities Behind “Money Games”

• Explaining the Practice
  • “Money games” exist when small schools play top programs for a big payout, widely understood as financial necessity rather than competition.

    “I'm playing for money. I'm playing so that we can pay for this, pay for this. Don’t act like you got a chance because you know you don’t.”
    — Coach Prime [06:16]

• Financial Disparity
  • The actual payouts often fail to cover real costs—travel, food, band, accommodations—with schools sometimes losing money.

    “Two charters. Because you got one for the team and one for the band... that's probably six meals. That's going to be an upward of 700, 800 to a million. But you're getting 590.”
    — Coach Prime [06:41]

  • “So you took a L and took a L going and getting beat down.”
    — Podcast Host [07:14]

• Health and Dignity vs. Dollars
  • Coach Prime gets passionate about the injustice of putting his players at risk for inadequate returns.

    “If I put my kids in a situation where there's no win and is detrimental to their health, I'm selling them out.”
    — Coach Prime [11:24]

  • “You gotta make sure you get compensated enough. It’s not worth my kids getting hurt. ...But I can't sell my kids.”
    — Coach Prime [13:37]

3. On Doing Business and Valuing Black Programs

• Negotiations & Equity
  • Larger schools get bigger payouts; some HBCUs settle for less, which Coach Prime sees as unjust and rooted in systemic undervaluing.

    “We gotta quit... Stop accepting whatever they give us... If you accept peanuts, they're gonna thank you a monkey. Sooner or later, you got to stop dancing and clapping for the little dimes they throwing in your plate. You got to demand. We deserve more. And this is why. And it's documented.”
    — Coach Prime [14:28]

• Who Negotiates?
  • Athletic Directors make the deals for money games—negotiation strength varies and often decides how much schools can leverage.
    — [13:11]
• Financial Output vs. School Funding
  • A larger reflection on why Black state schools particularly receive less funding compared to their predominantly white counterparts, often owing to enrollment size and inequitable allocation.
    — [14:12–14:28]

4. The Facilities Gap & Stepping Up

• Upgrading Infrastructure
  • Improved facilities are tied to success and funding, but the initial investment is hard to secure. Coach Prime shares his hands-on approach.

    “Even when this wasn't ready Coach Prompt said, look, take half of my... Whatever I'm making, make it happen.”
    — Podcast Host [15:37]

  • “I'm gonna only tell you to cut the grass three times. After that, I'm gonna do it myself.”
    — Coach Prime [15:45]

• Leadership Mindset
  • He refuses to make excuses or accept the status quo, a mindset that’s shifted the trajectory of the teams and programs he’s led.
    — [16:00]

5. Coach Prime On His Role

• Recognition, Responsibility & Preparation
  • Recognized as the state’s most notable figure, Coach Prime attributes his readiness to a lifetime of experience at every level—youth, high school, and beyond.

    “Everything that’s on my plate, I’ve been through the process at the youth level, at the high school level or at some level. God has taken me through it in the dark. So when you hit the lights, I was ready.”
    — Coach Prime [16:25]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:08] Coach Prime:

  “No, they ain’t [going crazy]. They going money.”

• [06:16] Coach Prime:

  “Don’t act like you got a chance because you know you don’t... If you plan for money, do real business.”

• [11:24] Coach Prime:

  “If I put my kids in a situation where there's no win and is detrimental to their health, I'm selling them out.”

• [14:28] Coach Prime:

  “If you accept peanuts, they're gonna thank you a monkey. Sooner or later, you got to stop dancing and clapping for the little dimes they throwing in your plate. You got to demand. We deserve more.”

• [15:45] Coach Prime:

  “I'm gonna only tell you to cut the grass three times. After that, I'm gonna do it.”

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Important Timestamps

• [03:50] — Conference realignment and financial motives
• [04:20] — Jackson State’s power conference ambitions and the “big boys”
• [06:16] — Money games: Rationale and hard truths
• [11:24] — Ethics and the cost of money games on student-athletes
• [13:11] — Who negotiates these games and why Black schools get less
• [14:28] — Valuing Black schools and refusing to accept less
• [15:37] — Funding facilities and Coach Prime’s personal sacrifices
• [16:25] — On being prepared for public leadership and large responsibilities

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Summary Tone & Closing

Coach Prime’s presence brings an unfiltered, motivational, and pragmatic take on college sports’ financial machinations. The episode blends humor, tough love, and business insight, challenging listeners to think beyond tradition and hold institutions accountable for equity and progress. This candid look behind the curtain is essential listening for anyone interested in the intersection of sports, business, and social justice.

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Transcript

[Coach Prime]

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[Coach Prime]

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[Coach Prime]

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[Coach Prime]

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[Interviewer]

Me ask you this. As far as the conferences, we see some things that make absolutely no sense. When conferences like schools on the west coast and the big east east and Big Ten has 13 schools, it's because they're getting paid. Yeah. So. But I say that to say it's all. It's all. Everything is derived around football and the conferences are just going crazy.

[Coach Prime]

No, they ain't. They're going money.

[Interviewer]

So I say that to say, is there ever any way possible that you foresee Jackson State being in a power conference at some point in time?

[Coach Prime]

I would like to see that. When we're ready, we got to be ready. Now when you, when you start jumping conferences and I don't want to just jump to no baby conference. If I'm going to jump, let's bungee jump. Let's do the dog on thing. Okay. So I got to get the Travis's. I got to get Travis's there too. Okay. Up front on both sides, offenses, defensive line with some depth because that's how the big boys could get you. Now they can't mess with you on the skill position because we got a quarterback that could spin it. We got receivers that could go dbs, that can go, linebackers that could bang and cover. And where they get you is right here in the trenches. Because now when they rotate, they rotate and you, they got eight heat seeking missiles coming and you may have four. So sooner or later you going to wear down. So you got to beef that up if you want to compete with the big boys.

[Interviewer]

But you, you would like that, be open to it.

[Coach Prime]

I want that. I mean, I want that.

[Interviewer]

What conference would you want to be in?

[Coach Prime]

I know it don't matter. Somebody a conference that is gonna sec make sure that we don't have a struggle no more. Because everything is a struggle. Everything is not enough. Everything is less than everything is lack thereof. It's going to be a conference that can put the whole school on that. We straight.

[Podcast Host]

SEC would be big. It could be Big 12 too. I mean it's fits in that guy. SEC is like.

[Interviewer]

SEC is the biggest.

[Podcast Host]

It's the biggest.

[Coach Prime]

Understand when you start talking like that, you got to answer with a house.

[Podcast Host]

So that was so you.

[Coach Prime]

You got stadiums, you gotta have all the facilities. Yeah. Ain't nobody. Come on, man.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I want to get to the facility, but I want to talk SEC.

[Coach Prime]

Coming here like this.

[Podcast Host]

You said playing the big boys. And I know one of the things you touched on recently was the money games.

[Coach Prime]

True.

[Podcast Host]

And the disparities in that. Can, can you elaborate and explain to people? Because when we see a. Let's pick a. Pick a random school. Let's say you guys play Alabama.

[Coach Prime]

No.

[Podcast Host]

No.

[Coach Prime]

You just saw Alabama State, right? Alabama play against ucla, Right. Okay, big dog. I don't mind that. But tell the kids what it is. I'm playing for money. I'm playing so that we can pay for this. Pay for this. Don't act like you got a chance because you know you don't. And then if you plan for money, do real business. So you get 500,000 or 590,000, whatever was reported. Once you call and check and see how much a charter flight is. Two charters. Because you got one for the team and one for the band. Okay. Going to California now you got hotels and all that. All those accommodations and probably two nights of food and all that. That's probably six meals. That's going to be an upward of 700, 800 to a million. But you're getting 590. So you took a L and took.

[Podcast Host]

A L going and getting beat down.

[Coach Prime]

Literally.

[Podcast Host]

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[Coach Prime]

So let me get this straight.

[Podcast Host]

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[Coach Prime]

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[Interviewer]

Right.

[Coach Prime]

To me, isn't the value not in the school that could beat me. It's in the school that I'm going to be because I really just played a setup game just to beat you. Right. If I'm paying you, that mean I need to whoop you? Yeah, right. When a boxer pays another boxer, they paying him to what whooping it may. Well, they ain't going to pay you if his purse is 20 million and he paying you 15 million. No, no. He's going to pay you significantly less because he know he gonna whoop you.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Coach Prime]

It don't make sense to me, man. The numbers just don't add up to me. That's a problem for me.

[Podcast Host]

So who negotiates that from the, from the school?

[Coach Prime]

It has to be. It has to be the ad. The ad does it? Yes.

[Interviewer]

Okay, so because I remember when I used to play basketball and I remember used to see like Coppin State, they used to always. The first 15 games was on the road. They play Ohio State, Michigan beat down State.

[Coach Prime]

Pockets fat, though. Start the season off like, oh, and.

[Podcast Host]

100112 sec has that one week every year. They're like, this is cupcake city. Why are you playing UCL Monroe?

[Coach Prime]

Because it's a pay game for them, right? Yeah, but you got to make sure you get compensated enough. It's not worth my kids getting hurt. Then I gotta go and talk them. You know what? We could do it next week. I know what happened last week. I'm sorry about that. We had to go get the bag. That's what the conversation should be. We had to go get the bag. But guess what? We could do it this week. We could beat them. Yeah, but I can't do. I can't sell my kids.

[Podcast Host]

That's what I'm saying. Even when you get the bag, it's still coming back to the school. Not necessarily the program.

[Coach Prime]

And you ain't even bringing enough back because you got to make it back home. Right. And you didn't even get enough to even make it back home with a bag.

[Interviewer]

And at some point, a conversation has to have a. Has to be had about funding for these schools, especially the state schools. Because it's like, why a lot of Ohio state's a state school, like Florida state's a state school. But why the black state schools never get any money?

[Coach Prime]

Enrollment. You got to talk about enrollment. And we got to quit. Stop accepting whatever they give us. They can't just throw no money at you. You say, oh, thank you. No, man, stop accepting the foolishness that they give you. If you accept peanuts, they're gonna thank you a monkey. Sooner or later, you got to stop dancing and clapping for. For the little dimes they throwing in your plate. You got to demand. We. We deserve more. And this is why. And it's documented.

[Podcast Host]

So one of the things you talked about, obviously, is the facilities. If we're going to grow and win. What winning comes, success becomes more money. I know. Even like here, when you came here, this room we were sitting in did not exist.

[Coach Prime]

No, it didn't.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Coach Prime]

So these are. Practice field. Did not exist. Not exist. None of this existed. And we're thankful that we have an ad that. That knows how to fight. And we partner. We communicate and we articulate to one another the needs and the thoughts and the process of getting them.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Coach Prime]

And then I got partners. Right. Who help.

[Podcast Host]

And one of the things that kind of got glossed over was like, even when this wasn't ready Coach Prompt said, look, take half of my. Whatever I'm making, make it happen.

[Coach Prime]

Yeah, I had to finish, get it done. I had to get it done because I'm gonna, I get tired of telling people this, this, this, this sooner you just made, man. I do it, I'm gonna only tell you to cut the grass three times. Okay. After that, I'm gonna do it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Coach Prime]

Okay. So I'm not gonna sit up here and just cry, cry, cry. I'm gonna give you opportunity to do what you've been handsomely paid, to do your job. Then again, I'm gonna do it.

[Interviewer]

So you've become the most recognizable person in the state of Mississippi. And I don't even think it's close, probably by a landslide. So with that, I'm assuming there's a lot on your plate that you probably necessarily didn't sign up for. So we just had.

[Coach Prime]

I'm not gonna say that, no. Everything that, that's on my plate, I've been through the process at the youth level, at the high school level or at some level. God has taken me through it in the dark. So when you hit the lights, I was ready. My graduates from my school being Forbes back.

[Interviewer]

Drop bag, drop a mic, drop bag drop.

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