The CU Board of Regents unanimously approved a new five-year contract with Sanders today, which runs through the 2029 season.
Deion Sanders will make $10 million in 2025, $10 million in 2026, $11 million in 2027, $11 million in 2028 and $12 million in 2029. Only seven coaches made more money last year than Deion’s salary net year — which puts Deion Sanders’ salary in BIG TIME Big 10 / SEC territory.
And the crazy thing is, he’s worth it. CU’s athletics department is the front door of the university, and the impact that Deion Sanders has had on CU cannot be understated. Applications at CU increased 20% in 2024, with more than 68,000 prospective student applications. The Boulder Daily Camera reported that this includes a 50.5% increase in applications from black students. This is remarkable — CU has struggled for decades with recruiting students of color, and the Deion Sanders Effect has been the biggest difference maker in CU’s history in this regard.
Retaining Deion Sanders is absolutely critical to the school, and THIS commitment from the university shows that it is serious about athletics and understands the positive impact that Deion Sanders has had at Colorado. Kudos to Rick George. This deal is good for the athletic department — but it’s equally good for the underlying institution.
And now, for the next 5 years, we know where he’ll be: in a cowboy hat, shades on, still continuing his brash, innovative ascension in Boulder.
Now entering his third season, Sanders was down to two years remaining on his original contract. Now, that number has been pushed up to 5. Rick George had been negotiating a new deal with the coach since at least late last year, during which time Sanders was briefly considered a candidate for the Dallas Cowboys job.
“Coach Prime has revolutionized college football and in doing so, has restored CU football to our rightful place as a national power,” George said.
“This extension not only recognizes Coach’s incredible accomplishments transforming our program on and off the field, it keeps him in Boulder to compete for conference and national championships in the years to come.”
Colorado went 1-11 the year before Sanders took over. After a 4-8 debut season, he led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record in 2024, finishing in a four-way tie for first in the Big 12. Receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy. Quarterback Sheduer Sanders, the coach’s son, earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
More on this story next week, but it’s Friday, and we’re off to celebrate.
And when we celebrate over here at BuffsBlog – the first thing we do is we hit the BUFFALO STANCE. NOW GIVE ME MY DARN THEME MUSIC!