College football analyst Cameron Stuart has pushed back against ESPN’s Paul Finebaum following his sharp criticism of Deion Sanders’ recent NIL salary cap proposal.
At the Big 12 Media Days, the Colorado head coach backed a capped NIL model to level the playing field so that smaller budget programs can compete financially with those who routinely pay out millions. However, Finebaum didn’t agree with Sanders, saying he should stick to coaching.
On Thursday’s episode of “Locked on Baylor,” Stuart spoke about the fiery exchange between the two, while taking a jibe at the SEC analyst.
“Paul Finebaum was basically saying there’s enough wrong with college football right now,” Stuart said (10:00). “In fact, I believe the quote was something like, ‘Let the players continue to ruin it like they’re doing right now.’ Classic Paul Finebaum. I don’t think he used that excuse when there was conference realignment or expansion of the college football playoff. I don’t think he’s said, ‘It’s already messed up enough, guys—fellows, let’s stay on the right page here, you know?’”
Stuart went on to explain why he agrees with Deion Sanders’ salary cap model.
“I agree with Deion here,” Stuart added. “I think many of us do. I think that’s good for college football … Well, not only is a salary cap a good idea for the rest of college football, I’m going to take it further. It’s something we’ve more or less abandoned in the NBA. Bird rights—you can go over the cap to retain your own player if he stays. If we’re doing salary caps right, just like in the NBA: a school can offer more to a player to stay here, even above the cap or apron, without penalty.”
Paul Finebaum Had Strong Words for Deion Sanders Following Colorado HC’s Salary Cap Take
Paul Finebaum didn’t mince words after he learned about Deion Sanders’ proposal of introducing a salary cap in NIL dealings from college to level the playing field. Finebaum fired back publicly, urging Sanders to focus on coaching instead of policy-making.
Finebaum also called out the hypocrisy of Deion, saying Coach Prime is only advoacting for a cap now that his son Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Travis Hunter are no longer in college football.
“I mean, those two guys that he had last year, Shedeur and Travis, could have left and broken everybody’s bank and would have had he not had that hold over them.” Finebaum said. “So, I just think Deion needs to stick to coaching football. Let the college football leaders screw up the game the way they have already.”
Shedeur and Hunter carried hefty NIL valuations. So Paul Finebaum called out Deion Sanders to say what he just said, conveniently.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, basketball, and more!
