PHOENIX – LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record as the all-time leading scorer this week. Alexander Ovechkin is inching closer to Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. But will anyone ever come close to Tom Brady’s record of seven Super Bowl rings?
‘No,’ Deion Sanders said matter-of-factly.
‘The reason it won’t happen for quite some time is that … we are at a financial state that I don’t believe that a guy is going to be as humble as Tom Brady and work with his team and take less (money).’
Sanders said the current culture in sports ‘isn’t built like that.’
‘This culture wants every darn dime they can get,’ Sanders told USA TODAY Sports at Super Bowl 57 Radio Row at the Phoenix Convention Center. ‘You have to sacrifice some things to get to be in that position and I don’t think this culture is ready to make those sacrifices.’
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The Pro Football hall of Famer signed a five-year contract that pays $5.5 million annually to become the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes following three seasons at Jackson State in December.
‘It’s a blessing that they wanted me and all its attributes, so that’s what they’re getting, and then some,’ Sanders said. ‘They haven’t tried to keep me in a box or limit me in any form or fashion. They love everything that comes with Coach Prime.’
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Sanders said things are ‘going great’ at Colorado, so much so that he ‘would rather be there than here’ at Super Bowl 57. The Buffaloes finished the season 1-11 last year, but Coach Prime isn’t worried about being competitive.
‘We don’t think about competing, baby, we think about winning and dominating,’ he said. ‘What does that word mean? Competing? I never heard that word before.’
Maybe it’s the huge first recruiting class he’s brought in with him that instills that confidence. Sanders has attracted a class of at least 42 newcomers in his first months on the job, including 23 transfers from other four-year colleges.
Sanders said he doesn’t ‘sell’ recruits.
‘We just have a real conversation. I really want to raise men, not boys, and I really want these parents to understand that when you send me a boy, I’m going to return them a man,’ he said. ‘And he’s going to be a professional, not just football. He’s going to do something with his life. He’s going to make an impact.’