Late Wednesday evening, news broke that the Big 12 voted unanimously to invite the University of Colorado away from the Pac 12 and to the rejuvenated conference. And one man is solely responsible for the Big 12 laying out the “welcome home” mat for the Buffaloes.
Deion Sanders.
Say what you want about Coach Prime, but there’s no denying his impact.
From his transformational two years at Jackson State to his first eight months in Boulder, Deion Sanders has changed cultures and futures for his programs and players.
He’s a lightning rod for attention and change. That was obvious from the moment he touched down in Colorado despite not officially ending his tenure back in Jackson, MS.
The university rolled out the red carpet for Coach Prime and his family that day, launching not only the start of his job as the head coach of the Buffaloes but the “Prime” clothing line.
After being hired on December 3rd, sales of officially licensed Colorado products skyrocketed a ridiculous 700% YOY.
Then after returning to Mississippi to coach the Tigers one last time, Sanders’ farewell game helped make the 2022 Celebration Bowl the fourth most-viewed game in game history with 2.4 million viewers. That gave Sanders, who helped attract 2.6 million viewers to the 2021 game, ownership of two of the four highest-viewed Celebration Bowls in game history (2016- 2.7 million; 2015- 2.5 million).
But it didn’t end there.
Besides the hype and media frenzy, Sanders brought the money train with him and signed a 5-year, $29.5 million contract with Colorado, making him the highest-paid coach in school history.
But his presence paid immediate dividends for the school as a mindnumbing 47,277 fans showed up to watch the team’s spring game, ranking it 10th most in the nation (Ohio State ranked 1st with 75,122).
According to On3, that more than doubled the previous attendance record of 17,800 set in 2008 and obliterated last year’s paltry attendance of 1,950. Most importantly, the game generated an unexpected $343,000 in ticket sales, $123,000 in merchandise revenue (the “largest” of any home game in 2022 per AD Rick George) and approximately $143,000 in concessions.
All in, the school raked in a net profit of roughly $200,000.
That’s the power of Coach Prime, a power which also attracted the attention of new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.
The conference, which will lose Texas and Oklahoma after the upcoming academic year, added Houston, Cincinnati, UCF and BYU and $100 million in exit fees paid by the departing Longhorns and Sooners.
But yesterday’s vote by Big 12 presidents and chancellors proved the conference wasn’t done.
They opened the door for Colorado, an original member of the Big 12 when play began in 1996, to rejoin the conference it left for the Pac-12 in 2011.
And it was all because of one man- Deion Sanders.
Sanders’ presence, while upsetting the transfer portal, has dramatically altered the future of a 1-11 program and made it must-see TV even without the Buffaloes having played a regular season game yet.
That doesn’t matter though, for the school has reaped the benefits of Coach Prime already.
When Rick George hired Sanders, he wasn’t sure how he was going to pay for him.
“We don’t have the money yet, but I know we’ll have it so I’m not worried about that piece,” said George when asked about Sanders’ contract.
George wasn’t worried because he knew the benefits of the Deion Sanders money train. It started with apparel sales, moved to the spring game and now it’s affected conference realignment.
Should the Buffaloes accept the invitation, they will rake in an estimated $31.7 million in media rights revenue in 2025.
And it’s all thanks to Deion Sanders, who single-handedly transformed the outlook of Colorado without even playing a single meaningful game.
For that, Sanders has become, arguably, one of the most powerful forces in college athletics.
