Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is starting to feel the pressure following the Buffaloes’ 53-7 blowout against Utah this weekend. They are currently 3-5 on the season and are projected to finish the season 5-6 according to PFSN’s playoff meter.
The Colorado Buffaloes and Sanders agreed on a 5-year $54 million contract extension in March 2025 that will keep him in Colorado until 2029. The former NFL star is currently the highest-paid head coach in the Big 12.
Colorado Not Making $33M Deion Sanders Decision
During the latest episode of “Adapt and Respond with RJ Young.” The College Football analyst revealed his take on the current situation at Colorado. The analyst revealed that he doesn’t believe it’s time for the Buffaloes to move on from Sanders.
“It would be ridiculous not to point out that Colorado is what it is because of Deion Sanders. So yes, his buyout is 33.3$ million dollars and I’m sure someone wants to flaunt that around. But they aren’t paying it.” Young claimed.
If Colorado fired Sanders without cause, he would be owed $33.6 million before December 31, 2025, according to USA TODAY Sports. Sanders signed a contract extension during the offseason that increased his salary to $54 million.
According to USA Today, the decision to hire Sanders helped lead the Colorado department to a record $146.6 million in reported revenue and a record $31.2 million in football ticket sales. The head coach signed with the Buffaloes in December 2022.
When he signed for Colorado, the Buffaloes were coming off a 1-11 season. In his first season in charge, Sanders coached them to a 4-8 season. After that, the head coach improved, going 9-4 in 2024. Sanders also coached a Heisman winner in Travis Hunter.
“A lot of this is how much excitement Deion Sanders can bring to that team. They sold out their home games two years in a row. Will they do that next year? That remains to be seen.” The analyst questioned before moving on to the quarterback situation at Colorado.
This season, according to PFSN’s CFB QB impact rankings, Kaidon Salter is the 28th-best quarterback in the nation. With an impact score of 82.0, the Buffaloes quarterback has thrown for 1193 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions this year.
“If you hit the portal, he can do that. He might find someone who is disgruntled at quarterback, maybe it’s Julian Lewis.” Young suggested that Coach Prime could go looking for a quarterback in January.
Julian Lewis was the five-star quarterback prospect Colorado elected not to redshirt this summer. Despite that, he has yet to see any significant game time this season. Lewis flipped his commitment from USC to join Sanders in Colorado.
Currently, it’s most likely that Sanders will not be going anywhere. After earning goodwill with the program over the last two years, he will most likely be given time to turn things around. And the Freshman quarterback may be a part of that process.
