Deion Sanders Shares Blunt Message With Colorado Players About The Free Ride Coming To An End

Deion Sanders wants his Colorado players to know the free ride they have won't last forever.

The Buffaloes are currently 4-2, and are coming off a 27-24 win over a terrible Arizona State team that was far too close for comfort. Next up is an awful Stanford team. Colorado certainly has a good shot of improving to 5-2.

However, that's not the only thing Deion Sanders is focused on. The electric Colorado coach wants his players to understand the good life of being a D1 college athlete doesn't last forever. All the free tuition, free food, free housing, free apparel, potential NIL deals and everything else that comes with being an athlete at a major university eventually disappears. What will players do after that?

Deion Sanders preaches the importance of having a plan for life after sports. (Photo by Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)

"How long you all think that's going to last? It's going to be over with soon. What you going to do? What's the game plan," Sanders asked his players in an incredibly serious tone.

He then made it clear his job is to make them become men and not hold their hand through life. It's a pretty straightforward and important message.

Listen to his full comments below.

Deion Sanders is correct that the free ride comes to an end.

As hard as it might be for athletes in the moment to understand, everything comes to an end. The music gets turned off, the lights come on and the party is over. Happens to everything in life.

Nothing lasts forever.....especially when the NCAA puts a guaranteed expiration date on it. I used to work in D1 athletics and can speak from firsthand experience how many athletes didn't pay any attention to what would happen after sports.

It was all about the moment, and nothing else. What happens when players graduate, don't go pro and don't have a plan? It can get ugly.

Fortunately for really elite college basketball players, there are plenty of overseas leagues. The same isn't true for football. There's the CFL, USFL and XFL, but the salaries are a fraction of what players earn in the NFL. You can't make generational money playing minor league football.

Deion Sanders gives powerful speech about Colorado players preparing for life after college. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

That's why Deion Sanders' entire speech is so important. Players not going to the NFL - and there are many on Colorado that fall into that bucket - better be ready for life after their scholarships run dry. Otherwise, they're going to find themselves doing nothing productive and that's not a position anyone wants to be in. Credit to Deion Sanders for keeping it real with his players. The world needs more of that.