Rick George saved CU football by hiring Deion Sanders. Now comes the hard part: keeping him.
Sanders made CU relevant over the past two seasons, turning a one-win team into one of the most-watched programs in college football.
The Buffs finished 9-4 this season and were tied atop the Big 12 standings until BYU skunked them in the Alamo Bowl. It was an embarrassing finish, but that does not diminish the turnaround Sanders has authored in Boulder.
The Buffs boasted the Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter and the projected first overall NFL draft pick in Shedeur Sanders while changing the paradigm of roster-building through the transfer portal.
Now, it’s time to show Coach Prime CU remains serious about football.
He has earned a contract extension. Yes, he has three years remaining on his current contract. But that is not how this works. Not anymore. George took a chance on Sanders, hiring him with money CU did not have. Sanders has paid for himself multiple times over through sellouts, merchandise, media rights increases, record fall student applications and increased enrollment.
In the days leading up to the bowl game, Sanders appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” and said there have been talks about a new deal when questioned about whether he would follow Shedeur to the NFL.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone about a package or anyone about a deal, period. We are trying to work out something here (at CU) as you speak. I am not going to lie about that,” Sanders said. “I have one of the best, if not the best AD in the country in Rick George, and I am confident that you know we will get something done to keep me here so that we can bring this wonderful city a national championship.”
His current contract includes language where CU and Sanders agreed to “meet and confer in good faith on an extension after Year 3.” It is no longer feasible to wait until the end of the 2025 season.
Between NFL turnover and college openings, Sanders will have interest and options. CU cannot afford to let leaving Boulder emerge as one of them. Not with how quickly Sanders has achieved turning a dormant program into a winner.
From the day George hired Sanders, he has been hoping to extend him. The scope of the C-U-turn, whether you love or loathe Sanders, is impossible to dismiss. So, if George is actively trying to secure a new deal with Sanders, as the coach insisted, it is because philosophically they are aligned. As recently as October, George made it clear he wanted Sanders to finish his career in Boulder.
“We think he can do significant things for us long-term with longevity,” George said. “For us, and I think Coach would sit here and tell you (that), we’re on the same page with where we want this program to go.”
It will go straight into the abyss without Sanders, at least initially. College free agency means coaches spend as much time recruiting their own rosters as they do external players. Sanders has shown the ability to navigate the turnover and remains positioned to compete, as the signings of quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis show.
There is a framework for what an extension should look like with Curt Cignetti’s extension at Indiana. In mid-November, he agreed to a new contract through 2032 that pays him $8 million per year and includes an annual $1 million retention bonus.
Sanders is entering the third year of a five-year, $29.5 million contract, a bargain even when considering concessions made for his trademark merchandise. He can ask for more than Cignetti without hesitation. Does CU have any choice other than to find the nearest pen?
The Buffs were hopeless and hapless following the 2022 season. They featured a roster that compared to SMU’s in its first year back from the death penalty — undersized and overmatched.
Sanders won four games in 2023, drawing criticism for getting too much attention for too few victories. But CU drew eyeballs. And in 2024, there was a reason to watch as the Buffs entered the Associated Press Top 25, including impressive wins over Colorado State (that win matters locally), Baylor, Texas Tech and Central Florida. It was a terrific season, even if it showed what is missing: better and bigger players across the line of scrimmage, as CU’s losses shared the common thread of not running well and getting run over.
CU wants to be a contender, eyeing conference titles and qualifying for the college football playoff. No one is more critical to reaching those goals than Sanders. He forces people — see: recruits — to take CU seriously.
When George landed Sanders, it was a coup. Sanders has more than repaid the faith he showed in him. Remember the school’s previous direction in football? I think we can all agree, it is Prime Time for a market correction.