"I was the first NIL player in the history of the game": Coach Prime gets 100% real on his collegiate career

Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime, is best known for his time in the NFL. However, he also had a successful college football career. He even had a career in MLB that took place during his NFL career.

On Wednesday, in an interview with 'Reach The People Media,' Coach Prime was asked about his collegiate career. Sanders explained that he became the first NIL player in history because he was forced to become a walk-on for his final college season after signing a rookie deal with the New York Yankees in the MLB.

"I went fifth on purpose because I was also very astute and I was a business man," he said. "First and foremost, I was the first NIL player in the history of the game. Let me explain. After my junior year, I didn't play baseball my junior season, I got tired of it, it was too slow, I didn't play, but I still get drafted by the New York Yankees. They offered me a quarter of a million.

So I could leave college that summer and make a quarter of a million dollars, and come back and I know I'm gonna be a top five pick. Who wouldn't take that deal? So, by doing that I had to relinquish my scholarship, and come back as a walk-on because I had accepted money. The Yankees paid for scholarship, housing, tuition, everything." (0:40)

Coach Prime explained what life was like for him at college after he was drafted into the MLB.

"I went and played six weeks in rookie league in Fort Lauderdale, played one week in Fort Lauderdale, then two weeks in Columbus. Then I went back to Florida State to resume workouts and get ready for the season."

Coach Prime wants to turn college football spring games into an NFL-style preseason

Since the end of the college football season, there have been several announcements that teams have canceled their spring games. With the expansion of the college football season for playoff teams, coaches are more hesitant to play their players in spring games this year.

However, Coach Prime has different beliefs. He thinks that college football should treat spring games like an NFL-style preseason. Sanders has expressed interest in bringing another college team to Boulder to practice with the team and then compete in a spring game. Syracuse has expressed interest in visiting Boulder to practice with Deion Sanders' Buffaloes.