Deion Sanders calls for paying players who reach the playoff and Saban supports the proposal

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders directs players during an NCAA college football practice Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Boulder, Colo.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Leave it to Deion Sanders to come up with an idea for the College Football Playoff that nobody has really mentioned yet: Pay the players for making the tournament, and pay them more when their teams win.

If they do that, then “now it’s equality, now it’s even and every player is making the same amount of money,” the Colorado coach said.

Sanders and former Alabama coach Nick Saban talked to The Associated Press as part of their unveiling of a new Aflac commercia l that rolls out this week with a storyboard ripped from today’s headlines: It opens with Sanders comp