"It was hard to sit up in a class": Coach Prime recalls how quarter of a million dollars prevented him from taking college seriously

Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime, reflected on his college years in a video posted on Wednesday. On the "Reach The People Media" YouTube channel, the Colorado Buffaloes football coach told CU students how playing minor league baseball and college football for the Florida State Seminoles in 1988 made him less motivated to study in class.

"I'm not going to say I took school very serious because it was hard when you accepted a quarter of a million dollars, and you know you're about to be one of the top five picks in the (1989 NFL) draft. It was hard to sit up there in a class, you know that?" Sanders said (Timestamp: 2:21).

Coach Prime played college baseball for Florida State until his junior year. He also was on the track and field team.

Sanders said he stopped playing baseball. However, when the New York Yankees were interested in taking Sanders in the 1988 MLB draft, he changed his mind after they offered him $250,000 to play for the team.

Coach Prime said he knew he could play in the minor leagues during the summer and return to Florida State to be a top pick in the 1989 NFL draft.

"I didn't play baseball my junior season," Sanders said (Timestamp: 0:54). "Not at all. I got tired of it. I got bored with it. It was too slow for me. I ain't play, but I still got drafted by the New York Yankees. Okay? And they offered me like a quarter of a million.

"So, I could leave college this summer and go make a quarter of a million dollars and then come back, and I know I'm about to be one of the top five picks. Who wouldn't take that deal?"

Coach Prime shares how he became the first college football player with a NIL deal

Deion Sanders said in the video that he became the first player in college football to have an NIL deal. The multisport athlete said he lost his scholarship with Florida State after signing with New York.

Coach Prime said that, along with his $250,000 offer, the Yankees also covered his tuition, scholarship, and housing.

"In doing that (signing with New York), I had to relinquish my scholarship," Sanders said (Timestamp: 1:20). "So, now I'm a walk-on, which was great for me because now you can explain some of the things that you had. Back then, you couldn't have fancy cars and nice stuff. Like, 'Where did you get that from? Did the agent get it?'

"Now, you are going to be under investigation, so that made me a walk-on that I had accepted. That I accepted money, and it was cool because the Yankees paid for scholarship. They paid for tuition. They paid for housing. They paid for everything."

Although Coach Prime admitted to the students that he struggled academically, Sanders believes it was a great financial decision.