Deion Sanders defied doubters and returns to Colorado with a $10M per year deal. What's next?

New York Times

01-04-2025

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders will still interrupt whatever he's doing — even if he's in a room full of cameras and reporters — to pick up a FaceTime from son Shedeur. He still touts and defends his sons' abilities during the NFL Draft process, both Shedeur, the quarterback expected to be a first-round pick, and safety Shilo, a likely undrafted free agent.
Advertisement
'We've already won,' he says, still an overtly proud dad.
But when Colorado began spring practice this month, there were no players taking reps with Sanders on their backs. He wasn't sure who his quarterback would be — a first for Sanders in coaching dating back to when he moved Shilo from QB to defensive back because Shedeur showed so much early promise.
His early morning mini-sermons to his team — the infamous first one in Boulder promising his Louis Vuitton luggage was coming soon — aren't given with Shilo and Shedeur staring back at him.
Two-way star and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, whom Sanders called his 'other son,' is NFL-bound and will hear his name early in this month's draft.
More than a few predicted this would never happen. Critics, opposing coaches and even those who appreciated what Sanders did in his first two seasons in Boulder were prepared for Sanders to move on when his sons did. He's coached them his entire career, and the most cynical of onlookers wondered aloud if Sanders' entire detour into college coaching was about paving the smoothest path for his sons into the NFL.
Sanders is still here. He's stepping into his third year at Colorado, coming off a breakthrough 9-4 season, and last week, he became one of only a handful of college coaches making more than $10 million a year, agreeing to an extension that runs through 2029.
NOW GIVE ME MY THEME MUSIC
Coach Prime is staying in Boulder. 🏔️#GoBuffs | https://t.co/vJJTAN5ceR pic.twitter.com/nAwcnLlI36
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) March 28, 2025
Like Colorado, the 57-year-old is entering into a new era, one he often calls the 'third quarter' of his life.
'I love it because I only have to wear one hat,' Sanders said. 'When you're a dad and a coach, you're wearing two hats. You're coaching your butt off, but naturally, you're making sure your kids are all right simultaneously. I have adopted kids on this team that I love to life, and I'm watching them as well, but it's nothing like your two biological kids. … It's different for me. I'm sure it's different for them. But I'm loving it.'
Sanders has been consistent since he arrived in Boulder to take over a 1-11 program, extolling his love for his new home, its beauty and the reception among those on campus.
Colorado let him rebuild the program his way — despite heaps of criticism over flipping nearly his entire roster through the transfer portal in his first offseason — and has reaped the benefits of letting Deion be Deion.
Advertisement
There's last season's bowl game, the record TV ratings and increased ticket sales and applications to the school, as touted by Colorado.
Enter the new deal, which nearly doubled Sanders' salary. Sanders would owe $12 million if he takes another job before Dec. 31, 2025. That number drops to $10 million the following year. Sanders can, however, retire from coaching with no financial penalty. If he returns to coaching, he would owe Colorado the agreed buyout money.
A brief dalliance with the Dallas Cowboys didn't get far this offseason, but it was more than a leverage play.
'If I'd had the opportunity to continue coaching Shilo and Shedeur, I would have been ecstatic,' Sanders said.
Sanders is still running the program in his own unique way.
Cameras remain a constant in the facility, chronicling the program for multiple YouTube channels (including one led by Deion's oldest son, Deion Sanders Jr.) and the 'Coach Prime' show on Amazon that aired its third season this winter.
Actor Denzel Washington FaceTimed in for a team meeting last month to offer the team some wisdom.
'I wish I had my notebook with me because I wrote down so many things from that interview he gave us,' sophomore offensive tackle Jordan Seaton said.
Sanders is co-hosting his talk show 'We Got Time Today' on Tubi alongside Rocsi Diaz. Sanders recently had to shoot down rumors the two were dating. His five-year engagement with Tracey Edmonds ended in December 2023.
Coach Prime gear is still a top seller at the team store. And his health appears improved. Sanders' limp — a constant during his first year at Colorado — is gone, and he hasn't spoken publicly about the issues with his left foot in months. Blood clots cost Sanders two toes and nearly his life in 2021. He needed more surgery before the 2023 season to help alleviate constant pain.
Advertisement
Then there is the football and trying to build on last season's success without the three most recognized Buffs players.
'I don't inherit legacies,' Sanders said on 'The Skip Bayless Show' last month. 'I build 'em.'
Sanders is presiding over a quarterback battle for the first time as a college coach.
Four-star freshman JuJu Lewis, a late flip after being committed to USC for over a year, is competing this spring with Kaidon Salter. Salter, a former four-star recruit, began his career at Tennessee before transferring and starring at Liberty, where he accounted for 66 touchdowns in two seasons and led the Flames to an undefeated regular season and Fiesta Bowl berth in 2023.
'Who's gonna be who? We don't know. No one's getting a nod,' Sanders said. 'We're testing both of them to see how they react to what (offensive coordinator) Pat (Shurmur) throws at them.'
PERFECT TIMING. ⌚️
What you think @ShedeurSanders 👀@JulianLewis10 x #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/GH0al01euV
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) March 19, 2025
When Sanders started his college coaching career at Jackson State in 2020, he inherited returning starter Jalon Jones. Other than Shedeur, he's the only quarterback to spend a season as Deion Sanders' starter.
Now, that exclusive club will grow from two to three. What should Lewis or Salter expect?
'I'm sure there were a lot more home dinners with Shedeur,' Jones said with a laugh.
For Jones, it was a surreal crash course in the daily lessons Sanders has tried to instill in his sons for decades. Jones said he learned professionalism, how to present himself, how to run an offense and how to better command his team. Jones said he got to see Sanders as 'a regular guy like you and me.'
Jones threw for 11 touchdowns with five more rushing scores as the Tigers finished 4-3 during a season played during the spring because of COVID-19. He tried to play through a groin injury and lost his job late in the season. He transferred, in part, due to Shedeur Sanders' arrival. The three-star prospect flipped his commitment from Florida Atlantic and Willie Taggart to Jackson State to play for his father.
Advertisement
Jones never got the same focus as Shedeur while Deion's QB. Shedeur led Jackson State to a 23-3 record in two seasons, going 16-0 against SWAC opponents and breaking the school record with 40 passing touchdowns as a sophomore, going on to become the Big 12's offensive player of the year last season at Colorado.
On game days, Deion's dual roles were always on display just before kickoff. Deion would walk down the sideline and back with Shedeur, a tradition they shared since youth football. On the way down, Sanders was a coach. On the way back, a father.
'I had no clue that happened,' Jones said. 'That's a special bond.'
Colorado's new-look roster still has some carryover from Sanders' sons being on the team.
Through his recruitment, Seaton, a freshman All-American at left tackle, built a relationship with Shedeur, who he said taught him to 'be legendary' and to lead with action.
'Coming in as a freshman with a lot of expectation, you kind of walk on eggshells because you don't want to screw nothing up,' Seaton said. 'Getting my feet underneath me, it's just being confident and knowing who I am and knowing I'm the best player on that field, and when I walk in any room, carry myself a certain way and translate that on the field.'
Lewis also built a relationship with Shedeur, the QB he's trying to succeed.
'It's definitely a blessing to have a guy like him that just came over top of me,' Lewis said.
Deion Sanders again looked to the transfer portal to bolster his roster, adding guard Zy Crisler, a three-year starter for Illinois. Jehiem Oatis, a four-star transfer from Alabama, should be a boost to the defensive line.
But Sanders' reliance on the portal has lessened. Just over half of his incoming class is transfers, a far cry from the total overhaul in his first and second seasons when the vast majority of his newcomers were transfers.
Advertisement
Along with losing their quarterback, replacing Hunter means the Buffaloes will lose their best receiver and defensive back. Shilo Sanders is one of seven starters gone from the Buffaloes defense. The team's top four receivers are gone, too. Three offensive line starters return, including Seaton.
'We don't have the best QB in America anymore. We're going to have to play defense. It's on us,' said defensive line coach Warren Sapp, a Pro Football Hall of Famer promoted from graduate assistant this offseason.
Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston might have been the biggest retention for the Buffaloes all offseason, other than Sanders himself. Sanders made the longtime Bengals assistant a first-time play caller a season ago.
He improved the Buffaloes defense from 115th in yards per play to 33rd, and helped them leap from 124th in scoring to 42nd with much of the same personnel, save a few key additions at pass rusher. Colorado nearly doubled his pay this offseason, upping it from $800,000 to $1.5 million.
'That had to be the No. 1 purpose,' Sanders said. 'Rob was on everybody's list to try and secure his services. He deserves everything he's got coming and then some.'
Said Livingston: 'I say I was the dog on the side of the road that people drove by and say, 'That's a good looking dog, but we're good.' They brought me in. They changed my life, changed my family's life. It's my job to not let them down.'
A season ago, Livingston said he was playing 'Ted Lasso,' trying to get his players to believe in what they were going to be with little evidence to show them. This year, belief is much easier to come by, even with a rebooted roster.
'I feel like we will have a better team, I really do. I know we had a few phenomenal players you'll see get drafted, but as a team, I feel like we're better on both lines, better in the backfield — especially with the addition of Marshall Faulk,' Sanders said.
Advertisement
Faulk's arrival as running backs coach is evidence of Sanders doubling down on hiring NFL legends (and his friends) with little to no coaching experience to fill out his staff.
'You don't get better knowledge. He was in the backfield with Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner telling them about protections,' Sapp said. 'We're both here for Prime. We're not here for money. We're going to hand him that championship trophy.'
Domata Peko, a 15-year NFL veteran, and Gunnar White are new coaches for the defensive and offensive lines. Former Buffaloes star and NFL veteran Andre Gurode, who spent the past two seasons coaching in the UFL, is an assistant offensive line coach. Sanders shared camera time alongside both Faulk and Sapp on NFL Network.
Faulk said he's been saying no to coaching opportunities since retiring in 2005. In recent years, he's taken Sanders' calls and been drawn into the profession. He takes over a backfield that ranked 133rd out of 134 teams in yards per carry.
'I can guarantee we are going to be better,' Faulk said.
'I'm addicted. I never thought I wanted this job. But, oh, my God do I love it,' Sapp said. 'The babies react to it, and we're having fun.'
The face and voice of Colorado football will still be the same, even as the names and faces on the field and sidelines have shifted ahead of Sanders' third year in Boulder.
Almost every morning, Sanders posts a motivational message to his 1.8 million followers on X and 5.2 million followers on Instagram. And for a little bit, he'll scroll. When he does, he'll see one impact of last year's 9-4 campaign that makes him smile.
Reminders of his 4-8 debut season that included eight losses in the team's final nine games are sparse.
'My God, I haven't heard that and said that in a long time. That used to be on social media all the time,' Sanders said. 'I never see it anymore.'