"If your coach leaves, you can leave": Deion Sanders defends players’ right to transfer amid major CFB coaching changes

Deion Sanders has been able to build his Colorado Buffaloes team through a seemingly unlimited use of the transfer portal. But the coach famous for using the portal like never before is, perhaps surprisingly, an advocate of limiting the endless free agency the sport is experiencing.

In the last few weeks, many players, including some five-star recruits predicted to be their programs' futures, have entered the portal.

Historically, players would only transfer if they believed that the move would help their careers. But in today's college football landscape, more playing time isn't the only issue, pursuing a better NIL opportunity to earn more money has emerged as a prime motivator. So, anyone, including a starting quarterback, may decide to transfer.

This trend is something that may trouble many athletic directors, as their football programs could lose many key assets. But Deion Sanders has a solution to this issue.

“What I think it should be, it should always be, if your coach leaves, you can leave,” Sanders said.

Currently, college football players can only enter the portal during a one-month window between early December and January. This season, this window was between Dec. 4 (the day after the College Football Playoff was announced) and Jan. 2. Players also have a two-week period in the spring to do this as well.

There is an exception to this rule. The NCAA allows a 30-day window for players to enter the transfer portal if the program's head coach leaves. This is why many players from Alabama and Washington have entered the portal after it had closed.

Sanders's thoughts on the transfer portal

Sanders suggested that the regular month-long transfer portal window where anyone can transfer to another program should be scrapped.

Sanders said that players should be able to transfer only if the head coach has departed, as has happened with Alabama, which lost star freshman Caleb Downs and many other five-stars. The reason for this is to combat, as Sanders puts it a lack of “stick-to-itveness” and to make players honor their commitments.

This lack of commitment is why Sanders is sometimes hesitant to sign freshmen. Sanders fears that a strong talent straight out of high school will be more likely to enter the transfer portal either after a season where they barely played to find a program that will be more likely to start them or after a strong season to increase their chances of gaining a more lucrative NIL deal.

Sanders's criticism of the current system may be seen as hypocritical, as has grown his team through effectively using the portal. But this criticism stems from his experience of finding talent in the portal. Sanders would prefer experienced talent whom he knows will not only stay in Colorado but will be able to make an immediate impact.