The Big 12 has a star problem. Not in the sense that it lacks talent on the field—there’s plenty of that—but in the brutal reality that only one man seems to be moving the needle. Love him or hate him, Deion Sanders is the show. He’s the main attraction, the reason casual fans tune in, and the singular force keeping the conference relevant in a world where TV deals reign supreme. The numbers aren’t up for debate anymore. Colorado, fresh off a 9-4 resurgence, carried the program and the conf’s viewership on its back. So, when people say the XII has a “Deion Sanders problem,” it’s not that he’s a liability. It’s that they don’t know what to do with him.

If Commissioner Brett Yormark wants to elevate the conference, he has two choices—embrace Deion Sanders as the face of the Big 12 and reward his impact accordingly, or risk losing the only undeniable TV draw they have. Right now, the league is in a precarious spot. The SEC and Big Ten continue to dominate the television landscape, pulling in 82 million and 56 million viewers, respectively. The ACC barely edged out the Big 12, logging 20 million viewers to the latter’s 26 million. But here’s where it gets dicey—Colorado alone accounted for an overwhelming share of that. Buffs appeared in 11 of the top-100 conferences most watched games. Proving that when Sanders is involved, people show up. So, shouldn’t they properly reward Sanders and Colorado without favoring them?

Kevin Borba, speaking on Locked On Buffs, laid it out bluntly: “Big 12 has a clear-cut Deion Sanders problem, and what I mean by that is people only watch the Big 12 for Deion Sanders.” If that sounds dramatic, the data backs it up. Colorado tied Georgia and Texas for the 2 most appearances in college football’s top-rated games this season. That’s two blue-blood programs with national titles and decades of tradition being matched, view-for-view, by a program that just two years ago was circling the drain in the Pac-12. And it’s not just the regular season. Dc. 31’s Valero Alamo Bowl, featuring the Buffs-BYU on ABC, shattered viewership records, drawing nearly 8 million viewers despite having no playoff stakes. When Sanders is on the sidelines, whether fans are tuning in to watch him succeed or crash, they’re tuning in.

So, what now? Borba argues “it’s concerning because Colorado was overwhelmingly carrying the big 12, pointed out by Football Scoop” and they need to directly reward Colorado’s impact for that. “There should be an added bonus for teams who draw in X amount of views,” he said. And why not? CFB is a business. TV deals dictate everything, from kickoff times to conference realignment. The Big 12 has already shown it’s willing to throw financial incentives around when they paid Rick George’s CU $2.5 million to leave the Pac-12. If they were willing to shell out that kind of money just to get the Buffs through the door, why wouldn’t they invest in keeping them happy? It’s not just about Buffs, either. If the conference starts compensating high-performing teams based on viewership. It gives other programs a direct incentive to market themselves better, build exciting brands, and develop rosters. Everybody wins.

The problem is some purists won’t like it. Paying teams for ratings feels dangerously close to professional sports models, where marketability often trumps actual performance. But the reality is, the sport has already gone in that direction. NIL, transfer portal bidding wars, and multi-billion-dollar media deals have made CFB an entertainment product first and foremost. If the Big 12 wants to avoid getting left behind, it needs to act accordingly.

For now, the Big 12 can continue to pretend that Deion Sanders is just another coach in the mix, but that illusion won’t last forever. Because look at these numbers…

Deion Sanders might not go to NFL, but Buffs sure looks like ‘The Dallas Cowboys of CFB’

The speculation is officially over—Deion Sanders is not heading back to Dallas. With Jerry Jones locking in Brian Schottenheimer as the Cowboys’ next head coach, any dreams of Coach Prime returning to the franchise where he once starred as a player have been put to rest. But that doesn’t mean Deion isn’t running his own version of “America’s Team”—just at the college level.

Fans have dubbed Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes as “The Dallas Cowboys of College Football,” and the numbers back it up. The program just pulled in a jaw-dropping $34.8 million in ticket revenue for 2024, shattering records left and right. Football ticket sales alone hit $31.2 million, nearly doubling the school’s previous high.

For context, before Sanders arrived, Colorado wasn’t exactly a cash cow. Now, under his leadership, they’ve become a must-watch program, raking in millions and bringing a level of hype that rivals the biggest brands in sports.

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