Deion Sanders has transformed the University of Colorado‘s football program since his appointment two years ago. The Colorado Buffaloes have become the “Prime Buffaloes“, according to college football analyst Joel Klatt, and recent links between Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys have prompted concern in Boulder.
That’s because Sanders just led the Buffs to their most successful season in nearly a decade. Led by star quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy-winning two-way threat Travis Hunter, Colorado mustered a 9-4 record just two seasons after finishing 1-11. The Buffs hung around the Big 12 Conference championship race into the season’s final weeks, but with Shedeur and Travis both entering the 2025 NFL Draft, speculation has persisted that Coach Prime is looking to get out while the getting remains good, so to speak.
Klatt discusses Prime’s extension talks with Colorado
Speaking to Fox Sports‘ Colin Cowherd, Klatt revealed that Sanders and the university are in active negotiations to extend Prime’s contract, which runs through 2027 and pays him nearly $6 million per season — a few million below what the country’s richest coaches make in the SEC or Big 10 Conference.
“Nothing is finalized. He could leave his contract as is. I know that there’s been extension conversations,” Klatt said about the ongoing negotiations. “I know Colorado has come significantly up.”
As Prime seeks a pay raise that would bring him in line with coaches like Tennessee‘s Josh Heupel or Alabama‘s Kalen DeBoer, he is also aiming to secure more amenities and improvements for the football program to help it compete with blue bloods like Georgia, Texas, and newly-minted national champions Ohio State. Otherwise, Deion‘s talks to return to Dallas and take over as the Cowboys’ 10th head coach could become more than just a simple leverage play.
“I think he would like them to come up in several areas, not just his salary, but possibly assistant pool, facility stuff, commitment to NIL, outside of revenue sharing,” Klatt explained. “So there is talk and like any negotiation, whether he was going to go to Dallas or not go to Dallas, or stay at Colorado or not stay at Colorado, when you’re in a position like that, he’s doing and his management team is doing what he should, which is try to generate as much leverage as possible.”
In short, it might be a while before there is a resolution to Sanders’ saga. But Prime is positioning himself to come out as the winner, whether that is in the NCAA or back in the NFL.
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