Getty Deion Sanders addresses Nick Saban's comments.
Atlanta Falcons legend and current Jackson State head coach, Deion Sanders, stole the show on signing day back in December by landing the nation’s No. 1 recruit in wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.
The five-star recruit out of Georgia had previously committed to Florida State––where Sanders played before entering the NFL––but shocked the world on National Signing Day by de-committing from FSU and signing with the HBCU school instead.
Due to the surprise announcement, Sanders and Hunter made headlines for a few weeks but as time passed, the media moved on…as they always do.
That was the case until this past Wednesday when Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban was discussing the NCAA’s NIL deals during an event in Birmingham for The World Games 2022.
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Saban Throws Shade at Deion Sanders
During the discussion, Saban singled out Sanders, claiming that JSU bribed Hunter to flip his decisions with a $1 million-dollar deal.
“We have a rule right now that says you cannot use NIL to entice a player to come to your school,” Saban rambled. “Hell, read about it in the paper, I mean Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division-1 player to come to their school and it was in the paper and they bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it.”
Coach Prime didn’t like that and took to Twitter to defend himself.
You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow. I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB ! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.
Sanders also spoke with Andscape, a Black-led media platform, about Saban’s comments.
“I haven’t talked to Coach Saban. I’m sure he’s tried to call. We need to talk publicly — not privately. What you said was public. That doesn’t require a conversation. Let’s talk publicly and let everybody hear the conversation,” Sanders said.
“You can’t do that publicly and call privately. No, no, no. I still love him. I admire him. I respect him,” he added. “He’s the magna cum laude of college football and that’s what it’s going to be because he’s earned that. But he took a left when he should’ve stayed right. I’m sure he’ll get back on course. I ain’t tripping.”
Sanders also added that Hunter was never chasing the money.
“I don’t make a million. Travis ain’t built like that. Travis ain’t chasing a dollar. Travis is chasing greatness. Travis and his family don’t get down like that,” Sanders said. “They never came to us in search of the bag. They’re not built like that. This kid wants to be great.”
Hunter even took to Twitter himself to clear things up:
And Sanders’ son Shedeur even made a joke of it:
A Mill 😂 @DeionSanders gets mad if I don’t finish eating the chicken off the bone!
Coach Prime Had to Shut Down These Rumors Before
This wasn’t the first time that Sanders had to shut down these rumors.
Shortly after Hunter’s signing, Coach Prime appeared on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Max where he used the spotlight to address the false report that claimed Hunter signed with Jackson State due to a $1.5 million NIL deal from Barstool Sports.
BREAKING: Travis Hunter NIL deal with Barstool Sports is to be worth 1.5 Million
“We didn’t pay him! We ain’t got no money! We ain’t got no money!” Sanders said. “I heard a million and a half, and I heard Dave Portnoy over at Barstool. That’s the biggest lie I ever heard. You know what that is? That means we kicked your butt, we took what was ours, and now you gotta make up an excuse why.
“Ain’t nobody get no a million and a half. I wouldn’t pay my son a million-and-a-half on NIL. How am I gonna coach a guy making more than me?”
They don’t call Sanders “The Truth” for nothing.
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Falcons Legend Deion Sanders Puts Nick Saban on Blast