Ed Reed was visibly frustrated Saturday during his final team meeting at Bethune-Cookman after the school declined to ratify Reed’s contract.

Halfway through his meeting, it was the voice of Deion Sanders that reached out to the Pro Football Hall of Famer.

“We talked about this,” Sanders said. “We know the structure. We know the order. We knew how it was going to play out, and you’ve been there fighting and I know what you’ve been feeling. I know what you’re going through.

“You’ve got to understand Ed, God has a time and a place for you my brother, and I know your heart and everything going on inside of you and I know you do not want to leave those kids.

“I’m praying for you right now, man, because it’s going to be the toughest thing that you have ever had to do in your life. Sometimes, Ed, you’ve got to walk away.”

Reed gave a 15-minute goodbye to players and parents.

“My vision for change was probably moving too fast for a lot of people,” Reed said. “I am not withdrawing my name, as they are saying, they just don’t want me here. They don’t want me here because I tell the truth.

“This hurts, because I know people don’t care about these kids like I do. And they should be the ones leaving. Not me.”

The Ed Reed Foundation announced on social media Saturday that the university declined to ratify Reed’s contract and “won’t make good on the agreement we had in principle, which had provisions and resources best needed to support the student athletes.”

The decision came less than a week after Reed ripped the school in a profanity-laced social media post that went viral. He accused Bethune-Cookman of having a dirty campus and failing to clean his office before he arrived. He threatened to leave then, saying he was having to “clear out trash” while not even being under contract.

Reed apologized the following day for “my lack of professionalism” and addressed it again Saturday.

“I’m a good man, not perfect,” he said. “We all make mistakes, and I apologized for mine.”

Below are some of Reed’s comments. Warning: Not all language is suitable for all ages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.