Season 2024 is going to be a break-or-make situation for Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes, particularly after their not-so-hit 2023 season. Now that Coach Prime refuses to leave no stone unturned to get back to action with utmost rage, CFB has just dropped some news. By delving into the details, it hints at a $20 billion settlement.

Backed up by the big amount, some significant changes have also been made in the revenue-sharing age. Taking this up, hosts Jake Schwanitz and Andre Simone give a detailed analysis of how Deion Sanders and the Buffs are going to benefit on their YouTube podcast DNVR Buffs. Is this the silver lining to all the dark times that Boulder witnessed? Let’s see.

NCAA settlement being the game changer for College Sports

The landmark case of the House vs. NCAA lawsuit seems to have got a new direction as the NCAA could agree to a settlement. This settlement would establish an annual process giving new players a chance to opt in or object to revenue-sharing terms. On the DNVR Buffs podcast, Simone disintegrated the settlement in the light of Deion Sanders’ Buffs. “I think that’s promising for the Buffs new conference…the settlement would be 2.76 billion so dramatic really smaller than that what was it 22 billion…it’s somewhere north of 20 billion. Yes so that’s a huge difference.”

Since college football is the biggest revenue driver in the business, the settlement has also made it a point to take this factor into account. As pointed out by Schwanitz, “The document reveals unpublished details around an annual revenue sharing cap that schools are permitted not required to distribute to athletes. The cap is 22% of an average of power conference schools media rights ticket sales and sponsorships the cap remains a fluid”. The narrative seems to turn for the better for Sanders’ Colorado. 

Will the motivation boost promise financial stability to Deion Sanders’ Buffs? 

Going by the reports, the revenue CU generates from its multimedia rights (MMR) jumped 51% in Deion Sanders’ first year as the Buffaloes’ head football coach. The hike was shared in the money generated from digital signage, sponsorships, radio advertisements and other commercial opportunities that Sanders synced in. A ton of dollars happened to follow Coach Prime. 

However, good times did not seem to last for long. As per the sources, the University of Colorado athletics department recorded a deficit amounting to $9.9 million for the 2023 fiscal year. The greatest contributors are lower-than-expected distribution from the Pac-12 Conference and the cost of a coaching change in football. 

While Sanders is all pumped up to improve his 4-8 record, the latest progress on CFB’s $20 billion settlement will act as a boon. The athletes who have been new to the Buffs roster will also get a source of motivation to make the best use of the silver lining.

College sports are at a mega financial crossroads moving forward as major athletics, like football are on the verge of implementing a collective bargaining agreement. Even though stalwarts like Nick Saban initially turned their back, now they are in favor of paying players that would be a sigh of relief for college football coaches like Deion Sanders.