Wait-what!? The Colorado Buffaloes program seems to have a big heart for offering Deion Sanders a $250,000 bonus despite his iffy first season. But the Buffs can’t afford to lose him at the moment and wooed him to keep Coach Prime in the hood. Now the big question arises whether the hefty offer is valid or all bonkers.

To help us with the nitty-gritty, analyst Kevin Borba scrutinized the topic on the Locked on Buffs podcast. And it turns out that even though Deion’s 4-8 record might have nudged them a little, their love for him is even more than that. After all, Deion put Boulder’s economy on rocket fuel! Now the situation is, that in case Colorado wins the Big 12, which they WILL WIN according to Borba, it will be a cherry on the cake. 

Although he went well below .500 in his debut year as the Buffs HC, Deion’s pockets are only going to get heavier. Wondering why? On July 19, USA Today reported that the school paid Sanders a $250,000 bonus. This left the Buffs haters’ army losing their minds thinking is such a hefty amount justified for Deion, who failed as a coach? There’s no second thoughts about this. After all, Coach Prime was the man who catapulted the program’s media exposure during the 2023 season. To be more sanguine about the Prime Time effect, we need to take our calculators out. Hold on! Borba’s analysis gives some clarity.  

On the podcast, the analyst enlightened, “He gained the university over $340 million in media value. They have it at $87 million before he was there.” It’s here we need some help with the calculation. The difference comes to a sky-high pile of $253 million of fortune. The boost came up with lassoing the interest of the young masses and a 50.5% increase in Black applicants. As Borba pointed out, “He boosted the local economy. They have more applicants, people wanting to go to Colorado and Colorado is just at an all-time sort of high in terms of buzz.”

When Deion took the reins of Buffaloes, their media viewership sky-rocketed, beating the two other competitors, Alabama and Georgia. During the 2023 season, Colorado had five of the top 25 most-watched games in all of college football. So, the program had to dish out the big bucks to Deion to ensure their head honcho didn’t skedaddle. Now what if Deion wins the Big 12?

Deion Sanders’ vision for Big 12 success

Now that Deion is aware of his talents and his ability to bring some powerful results to the table, he will leave no stone unturned to impress Colorado. How could he just let go of the opportunity to leave a magical effect that would make his rivals swarm around him? The fact that the Buffs HC doesn’t fight media attention, but rather welcomes it, gets even more alluring. But Deion ensures not to get too carried with the attention. 

On the SEC Media Days, he thus confirmed how his sight is still fixed on the bull’s eye, “The main thing never should transfer itself. Winning is what we’re here for. As far as the focus and the attention, ever since I stepped into Florida State in ‘85, it’s been like that to me…We’re gonna try to do things being smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character. That’s what we’re relaying to all our young men.”

Discipline is something that is being well taken care of in the CU camp. From US Corps training to Navy SEAL water training, the Buffs roster is bound to evolve mentally and physically stronger. Besides, Deion Sanders has pounced on action with a revamped strategy gifting son Shedeur the best of the best O-line. August 30 is the day Coach Prime faces his ultimate test!