Colorado football coach Deion Sanders addressed recent speculation about his future in Boulder on Monday by saying he’s not concerned about a contract extension for himself until he gets other things in place for his program, including more big names for his coaching staff.
Asked if there were contract talks with the university, Sander said, “Maybe.”
“I don’t know,” he said at his first news conference of the spring football season. “I ain’t worried about me. Let’s get everybody else straight first. Then I’m good.”
Sanders, 57, is in the third year of a five-year contract at Colorado that runs through 2027. He earned $5.7 million last year in guaranteed pay, which ranked fourth among public schools in the Big 12 Conference. But recent comments and developments have raised questions about his future. Earlier this month, Sanders made a cryptic remark about money on a show called The Morning Run.
After talking about the beauty of Boulder, he said, “These people better go and get money money and stop playing. Bye. Bye.”
It’s not clear what he was referencing. It could have been pay for his staff and players or himself. Or something else.
In January, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, a former Colorado quarterback, said Sanders had a “very, very, very good offer in front of him from Colorado, and I don’t know why it hasn’t been signed.”
Sanders also had a brief flirtation with the Dallas Cowboys after that coaching job opened up. Before that, in December, Sanders had hinted at a new contract at Colorado.
“I’m confident that we’re gonna get something done to keep me here so that we can bring this wonderful city a national championship,” Sanders said on the Rich Eisen Show then.
‘Huge moves’ on the way for Deion Sanders’ coaching staff
Sanders’ comments on Monday shed more light on the situation as Colorado is working on new contracts for several assistant coaches whose original two-year deals recently expired, including linebackers coach Andre Hart. Meanwhile, Sanders suggested on Monday that he might add to his staff.
“We have a couple more huge moves we’ll probably make this week, maybe one next week that you’re gonna really appreciate the understanding of how wonderful this staff is,” Sanders said. “I always tell you, the rod and thy staff, they comfort me. And these guys we’re bringing in, along with these guys I just announced, gives me tremendous comfort.”
Sanders recently hired Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as the teams’ running backs coach and former NFL lineman Domata Peko as a defensive line coach. Colorado recently gave a new contract to defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, which nearly doubled his pay from $800,000 last year to $1.5 million this year. But a new contract has not yet been announced for offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who is due to make $850,000 this year under his current deal, much less than his counterpart on the other side of the ball.
Deion Sanders won’t cancel spring game
Sanders also announced Monday that his team’s annual intrasquad spring game on April 19 will be televised by ESPN2 and said his team’s pro timing day for all 32 NFL teams will be in Boulder on April 4. Several Colorado players are scheduled to attend the Big 12 Conference pro timing event for NFL scouts this week in Texas. But Sanders said not all players would participate in the workouts there and instead would wait for CU’s pro day April 4.
Unlike other college programs, Sanders also said he wants to keep playing a spring game, possibly even by staging it against another team. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is among those who have talked about canceling public spring games for various reasons, including because of concerns that it leads to tampering by other teams who might try to lure his players away after watching them in a spring showcase.
“You’re not gonna stop nobody from leaving your program by not having a spring game,” Sanders said Monday. “If you want to save money, just say that.”
Anybody who wants to transfer out of your program “is already gone,” Sanders said.
“It’s not gonna stop it,’ Sanders said. “I’m thinking of a way to improve it. That’s why I want to play against somebody.”
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown responded to this Monday by expressing interest in practicing against Colorado this spring. He told Sanders on social media site X that ‘we will come to Boulder for 3 days.’
Instead of worrying about his players being lured away after the spring game, Sanders said he might add some more transfer players to his roster next month. He also made a bold statement about his current team after losing Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and his quarterback son Shedeur to the NFL draft. Colorado finished 9-4 last year after going 4-8 in Sanders’ first season in 2023.
“I feel like we will have a better team,” he said. “I really do.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
(This story was updated to add new information.)