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Hey Friends,

Deion Sanders is officially headed to Colorado, signing a 5-year, $29.5 million contract ($5.9 million per season) to leave HBCU Jackson State and join Colorado in the Pac-12.

Sanders has to pay Jackson State $300,000 for leaving, as his JSU contract mandates that he must pay that portion of his remaining salary if he left before 2024 and if current athletic director Ashley Robinson was still in the same role. But his new contract with Colorado is $2 million more than they have ever paid a football coach, and it includes incentives that could make it even more valuable:

• $150,000 for six wins

• $100,000 for each win after six

• $150,000 for a bowl berth

• $200,000 for a New Year’s Six bowl invitation 

• $750,000 for a national title win

Funny enough, Colorado Athletic Director Rick George was asked how he came up with the money to hire Deion Sanders and said: “We don’t have the money yet, but I know we’ll have it, so I’m not worried about that piece.”

But more intriguing than the money being paid are the moves that the University of Colorado pulled to bring Sanders there.

As a refresher, Deion Sanders was hired by Jackson State University in 2020.

He inherited a program that had a 4-8 record the year prior, and he quickly turned things around. For example, the team compiled a 27-5 record after his arrival. They secured the commitment of the #1 high school recruit in 2022 (Travis Hunter) after he initially committed to Florida State, and College GameDay went to Jackson State University this year for the first time since 2008.

Combine that with the fact that Colorado went 1-11 this year and fired its coach after just five games, and it’s obvious why the Pac-12 school would be interested in Sanders.

But why was Sanders interested in Colorado? Well, that part is a bit more interesting.

The school is already pulling several levers that should enable Sanders to immediately compete with Pac-12 football powerhouses like USC, Washington, Utah, and Oregon.

For example, according to ESPN, Colorado has already started raising money through an NIL collective — a pool of funds raised by alumni for student-athletes — to make the school more attractive to football recruits.

But secondly, the university has also relaxed its rules regarding transfer credits (for all students, not just student-athletes). This last-minute change will undoubtedly help Sanders lure top-lever recruits to Boulder, Colorado.

In fact, it’s already working. Sanders told current Colorado players in his first meeting to enter the transfer portal because he’s bringing his own players with him, including his son and current Jackson State QB Shedeur Sanders, his other son Shilo Sanders (Safety), Travis Hunter (former #1 HS recruit, and Winston Watkins (5-star WR).

“We’ve got a few positions already taken care of because I’m bringing my luggage with me. And it’s Louis (Vuitton). I’m coming. It ain’t going to be no more of this mess that these wonderful fans, this student body, and some of your parents have put up with for probably two decades now. I’m coming. And when I get here, there’s going to be change.”

“So I want y’all to get ready to go ahead and jump in that portal. Do whatever you’re going to get. Because the more of you who jump in, the more room you make. Because we’re bringing kids that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined, with character.”

“Offseason, we’re going to try to make you quit,” Sanders said. “Those of you that we don’t run off, we’re going to try to make you quit. That’s what offseason is going to look like.” 

“I want the ones that don’t want to quit, that want to be here, that want to win. That want to be appreciative of every darn thing they’ve given you here. Heck of a lot of work. I want to get you to that breaking point so that I know what I’ve got. I don’t want to get into the game and find out I got Jane when all offseason I had Tarzan.”

And according to On3’s Josh Newberg, “over 200 recruits and portal transfers have reached out in the last 12 hours” to Colorado, including some “4 and 5-star caliber players.” So Sanders might end up quickly putting together a good roster.

But the other interesting caveat to this story is what it could potentially do for the University of Colorado. For example, we all know the Flutie Effect, right?

Named after Doug Flutie, a Boston College quarterback who successfully threw a Hail Mary to beat Miami in a nationally televised game in 1984, the general idea is that college applications surge following athletic success.

And the examples are virtually endless — Boston College saw a 30% jump in applications for the two years after Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary in 1984. Applications jumped 13% at Auburn after Cam Newton led them to a BCS national championship victory in 2011. Florida Gulf Coast saw a 27% increase in applications after advancing to the sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed in 2013, and Alabama is no different.

Nick Saban’s Impact At Alabama

• 25,000 to 40,000 enrollment (60% increase) 

• Flipping the majority of Alabama enrollees from in-state to out-of-state — which means more students who pay 3x more tuition than in-state students     

• $200 million more in annual tuition payments each year at Alabama

This situation with Deion Sanders is no different — his presence provided an estimated $30 million economic impact on the city of Jackson in just two years, and the school just approved the construction of a new stadium this year.

“If you talk about the social media impact, and just a publicity impact, it’s in the 10s of millions,” says Jackson State President Thomas Hudson. “Just in terms of the publicity, we’ve gotten, the free media we’ve gotten, just the boost to the JSU brand and name recognition, we’re second among all HBCUs in terms of our social media presence. And that’s certainly due in part to having a Coach Prime on staff, and as a part of the JSU family.”

So my point is, if Colorado ends up achieving even moderate success under Deion Sanders, that $30 million contract could soon look like a bargain.

I hope everyone has a great day. We’ll talk tomorrow.

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