Deion Sanders was rewarded with a record contract after a first transformational season as a Colorado football trainer.
On Friday, Cu sports director Rick George announced a new $ 54 million contract over five years for Sanders who will make him one of the country’s best paid coaches. Friday morning, the contract was approved unanimously by the Council of Regents of the CU.
“The Prime coach has revolutionized university football and, in doing so, restored CU football for our legitimate place as a national power,” George said in a press release. “This extension recognizes not only the incredible achievements of the coach transforming our program on and off the field, but he maintains him to boulder to compete for the conference and the national championships in the years to come.”
The agreement, which crosses the 2029 season, will pay Sanders, who was already the best paid coach in the history of Cu, $ 10 million in base and additional salary in 2025 and 2026; $ 11 million in 2027 and 2028; and $ 12 million in 2029. It is also possible to earn more thanks to incentives.
Sanders, who is 13-12 years old during his two seasons in Cu, joins an exclusive club of university football coaches making eight-digit wages. According to CBS Sports, its annual average of $ 10.8 million. Sanders is one of the nine coaches that should earn at least $ 10 million in 2025, led by Kirby Smart from Georgia, which reached an average of $ 13.2 million per year.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue to build something special here in Colorado,” Sanders said in a press release. “We have just scratched the surface of what this program can be. It’s not just a question of football; It is a question of developing young men ready to face the world.
“I am determined to bring greatness to this university, on and off the field. We have work to do, and I wouldn’t want to be elsewhere, but here, making history with these incredible players and this passionate fans base. Finally, someone obtained at least one five -bedroom house with an area for sale? ”
Sanders had three years and $ 18.3 million in the initial contract of $ 29.5 million over five years which he signed after being hired in December 2022. This contract made him, by far, the best paid coach in the history of the CU. This new contract replaces the old case.
Incitations in the contract include $ 150,000 for reaching nine regular seasonal victories and an additional $ 100,000 for more regular seasonal victories, $ 150,000 if the Buffs go to the Big 12 and $ 150,000 title match for a Bowl match of non-collège football playoffs.
If Cu wins the title Big 12 or arrives in the first round of the CFP, there is a bonus of $ 400,000; If the buffs win the Big 12 and get a Bye in the first round for the CFP, the bonus is $ 450,000. There are other bonuses if the buffs advance in the CFP, including $ 250,000 for winning the national title.
Sanders could also get a bonus of $ 75,000 if he is named Big 12 coach and a bonus of $ 150,000 if he is selected as national coach of the year.
Temple of professional football renown and undoubtedly the best cornerback to have ever played the game, Sanders is one of the most recognizable figures in sport, especially in university football. In addition to restoring some success in the field, Sanders brought unprecedented notoriety to a CU program which was apathetic before his arrival.
When Sanders was hired, Cu had just finished a 1-11 season – with 10 losses at least 23 points – and was considered the worst team among the Power Five conferences. Sanders was fresh out of a three -year race with Jackson State, where he took the tigers from a losing team with two consecutive swac titles.
In Cu, Sanders immediately allowed the talents of the program, led by his son, the quarterrière SheDer Sanders, and the corner of a corner / receiver star Travis Hunter.
Although the buffs were only 4-8 in the first season of Sanders in 2023, they lost five games by a score.
In 2024, Cu went 9-4 and competed for the Big 12 title until the last week of the regular season. The buffs have landed in the Alamo bowl, just the third appearance of the program in the program in the past 17 years.
Hunter, who won the Heisman trophy as the best player in university football, and Sheder is both projected as a choice among the first five during the NFL draft next month. Several other buffs are also hopes.
Under the prime coach, the buffs have become an essential program, in person and on television.
In 25 games, Cu played in front of a stadium with closed counters 21 times, including 10 games out of 12 in Folsom Field. During the 21 seasons before the arrival of Sanders, the Buffs sold only 11 of the 122 games. In 2023, Cu sold each home game for the first time in the history of the program.
Cu is on the national television network or ESPN for 21 of its 25 games in the past two years and has attracted more than 54 million viewers during the 2024 season. This includes 8 million for Alamo Bowl, the highest notes in the history of this event and the most watched not played bowl game in five years.
In addition, the CU spring match in 2023 was the only national television on ESPN. This year’s spring match scheduled for April 19 will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Under the prime coach, Cu saw his social media brand soaked. The Instagram account of the football team increased from 63,000 subscribers to around 1.1 million, and the Twitter / X account of the program increased from 98,560 to 296,800.
The buffs also acquired a national exhibition during two seasons of the documentary “Coach Prime” on Amazon Prime and via YouTube channels – especially well out of the media, led by Deion Sanders Jr. – which tells the daily life of the Team and Sanders family.
Over the past two years, Cu Football has had millions of dollars in economic impact on the city of Boulder, and there have been record figures for university registrations and applications, sales of goods and the team’s academic results.
Cu experienced a 20% increase in requests, including an increase of 18% compared to candidates outside the State. The applications of potential students who identify as black / African-American increased by 50.5%, and the applications of potential students who identify as non-white increased by 29.3%.
In 2024, home football matches reported $ 93.9 million in direct economic impact on Boulder and 146.5 million dollars in total regional economic impact.
The football team posted its best GPA quarter in the history of the program in the last semester with a brand of 3.011, the first time in the history of the program they recorded above a 3.0 GPA.
“Cu Boulder is one of the most innovative campuses in the country, it is therefore natural and appropriate that we also have the most innovative coach,” said Chancellor Justin Schwartz in a press release.
“The Prime coach has done a master’s work transforming Cu Boulder’s football program into a match in Watch nationally, week after week, and I am delighted to see what the team will perform under their direction in the next five years. He is also engaged in a program with the highest level of integrity which emphasizes the academic performance of our students and the objectives of the career after the ball. ”
If Sanders leaves the buffs for professional or collegial work before December 31 of this year, he owed $ 12 million in damages. This number drops to $ 10 million if it leaves before December 31, 2026; $ 6 million before December 31, 2027; $ 4 million before December 31, 2028; and $ 3 million before December 31, 2029.
If Sanders was dismissed without reason, Cu would be 75% of the remaining base for him and an additional salary on the contract.
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