His top players have cashed in on newfound fame with NIL deals to the tune of millions of dollars. All three players transferred to Colorado from Jackson State last season, an HBCU. The success and the publicity are making many people in Sanders's orbit wealthy.Ĭolorado's top three NIL - or name, image and likeness - earners this season are coach Sanders's sons Shedeur and Shilo, and Travis Hunter. It also attracted star power to Boulder, with rappers Lil Wayne and Offset, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and NBA players Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard on hand. Last weekend's game in Boulder, against in-state rival Colorado State, drew 9.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched late-night college football game ever on ESPN (DIS). Then, in December, Sanders was lured away from Jackson State, where he'd been head coach since 2020 and his teams had gone 27-6. Just weeks into his first season at the helm in Boulder, Sanders, known as 'Prime Time' when he played in the NFL - and MLB - and now called 'Coach Prime,' has already made his Buffaloes the most talked-about team in college football.Ĭolorado was 1-11 last season, good for last place in its conference. With his confidence and his aphorisms, to say nothing of his coaching skills, Deion Sanders has led the University of Colorado football program to a 3-0 record and a top 20 ranking.
'Coach Prime' is seizing the moment at Colorado, and so are his players and the school
