10-06-2025
Deion Sanders mystery illness: Does Colorado coach have diabetes? What we know
Coach Deion Sanders is dealing with an unknown health issue, which is the reason behind his absence from Colorado University's annual summer football camp.
On Sunday, his son Deion Jr. shared a health update on 'Coach Prime", as Sanders is popularly known, via a YouTube livestream.
According to Deoin Jr., the coach was 'feeling well,' USA Today reported. 'He'll tell y'all soon enough what he is going through, what he went through,' Deion Jr. added.
Commenting about the Colorado Buffaloes coach's return to Boulder, Deion Jr. said he did not know when that was possible. 'I'm waiting until my dad leaves. When he leaves, then I'll go. Until then, I'm gonna sit here with him,' he explained.
The Buffaloes will play against Georgia Tech on August 29.
The Colorado head coach had attended the university's summer camps in 2023 and 2024. The promotional material at the institute's athletics website featured Sanders at events this year as well, including youth football camps on June 10 and 11 and a specialists camp on June 18, according to the NY Post.
The news about Sanders' health issues comes on the back of his absence from the public eye recently. The former footballer has not given many interviews since his son Shedeur Sanders' slide in the NFL draft.
Sanders had cancelled his keynote speech at the Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research's annual symposium on Sunday, June 5, citing an 'unavoidable last-minute scheduling change.' Earvin "Magic" Johnson served as the keynote speaker in his absence.
In May, the former San Diego Chargers player addressed his absence at events on Asante Samuel's 'Say What Needs to be Said' podcast. 'I've done no media. I've done nothing for a minute. So coming on with you is something. I ain't been in front of nobody for a minute. I lost about 14 pounds. I'm coming back, but I needed this,' Sanders explained.
Coach Deion Sanders has been active on social media. On June 10, he dropped a motivational post on X, saying, 'Let's attack today with all we have. Let's give today everything we got. Let's not save ourselves for tomorrow knowing tomorrow ain't promised. Let's go all out baby. I believe in you & you believe in what God has bestowed upon you. Let's go!'
Take a look at his post here:
The Colorado Buffaloes coach underwent surgery for blood clots in his left leg in 2023. He has undergone 10 surgeries on his left leg as of 2023.
Sanders faced severe circulation issues in his legs, leading to the amputation of two toes on his left foot and partial removal of his left calf. In 2023, blood clots forced him to miss Pac-12 media day and required two surgeries, with risks of further amputation. The Colorado coach has undergone 12 surgeries, including procedures for blood clots in both legs in 2023 and toe straightening in July 2023.
However, there is no credible source to confirm that Sanders has diabetes.
The former San Diego Chargers player won two Super Bowls in his career.
The moniker stems from his high school days, when he was an all-state player in basketball, football and baseball. During one game, he finished with 37 points to his credit, leading to the name Coach Prime.
