Deion Sanders Says Colorado Won't 'Buy' Players in Offseason: 'We're Not an ATM'

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders knows he has multiple holes on his roster that need to be addressed in the offseason, but he's not planning on using money to recruit players.

"We're not an ATM. That's not gonna happen here," Sanders said Tuesday, per David Ubben of The Athletic.

Sanders continued: "If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes, it's because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education. All the business stuff will be handled on the backend. But we are not an ATM. You're not coming here to get rich unless you're really coming here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree. Not to come here and be Moneybagg Yo. That's a rapper, right?"

Of course, schools are not permitted to explicitly offer money to incoming recruits. That hasn't stopped such practices from happening, as improper benefits can be facilitated through boosters and other methods. The establishment of NIL rules has been hoped to be a deterrent to the issue.

Sanders was once highly regarded for his recruiting abilities, but Colorado's 2024 recruiting class is ranked 69th in the nation. The class currently consists of nine athletes, two of which are 4-star prospects. Just this week, Sanders lost two recruits as 4-star wide receiver Winston Watkins de-committed on Sunday and offensive lineman Talan Chandler flipped to Missouri.

Still, Sanders isn't trying to resort to extreme measures to convince players to play for Colorado.

"We want players that want us," Sanders said. "Trying to convince somebody and doing that, being held hostage financially, we ain't with that. We're not going to buy anybody whatsoever. We have tremendous needs. I'm pretty sure everybody in the country knows what we need and how much we need. That's not a secret and recruits are responding. Trust me, there's not a day that goes by that kids aren't blowing our recruiting staff up. They're calling and we're responding."