Deion Sander’s Redemption of Colorado Football

By Adam Gladstein

Media Analytics Executive

Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

Deion Sanders is an NFL household name, one of the best defensive backs to ever step foot on a football field. Despite being drafted all the way back in 1989 and playing until 2005, everyone who watches football knows who Deion Sanders is. Some of his accolades include: 2x Super Bowl Champion, 1x NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 8x Pro Bowler, 6x First Team All-Pro, and Pro Football Hall of Famer. He is widely considered one of, if not the best, cornerbacks of all time. Every football player knows and highly respects Deion Sanders.

Deion was hired as the head coach for the University of Colorado-Boulder football program in December of 2022. The football program had a record of 1-11 the previous season. Deion used his name recognition to attract top recruits and players for the upcoming season via the transfer portal. The following fall, Colorado sold out its football tickets for the entire 2023 season home games for the first time in school history, before the season even began. Every year, there are recruits and players on college football teams for fans to be excited about. For University of Colorado-Boulder football, the only major variable that changed from the 2022 to 2023 football season was the head coach. 

As the season went on, the branding of Deion Sanders, plastered on the image of Colorado football, increased the football program’s trend of popularity. According to Front Office Sports, the university's online team store merchandise sales have increased 1,220% between September 2022 and September 2023, and the year-to-date sales are up 51% since Deion Sanders became the Buffaloes' head coach. In addition, from an academic metric, out-of-state applications for the school increased significantly in that time frame. In the first three games with Deion Sanders at the helm, the Colorado Buffaloes went undefeated, and wins combined with such a prominent name as the head coach brought in revenue. It resulted in over $45 million in earned media money for the school, according to the Apex Marketing Group. Additionally, the school saw a 42% increase in sponsorship revenue. These numbers were recorded before Colorado had even finished their 2023 season, yet companies chose to seek them out.

The Colorado Buffaloes ended the 2023 season 4-8 and the 2024 season 9-4; they failed to make the playoffs for the first two seasons of Deion Sanders. They were far from one of the best teams, although obviously better than 2022, where they were 1-11, and in 2025, they finished as the #25 best-ranked teams. Despite the amount of ads, sponsorships, and social media branding, they did not meet expectations. Overall, Deion Sanders was the X-factor; he dragged the non-existent football program into the spotlight, and it almost made you forget that, compared to all other teams in the Power 5 conferences, they weren’t statistically significant. That is the power of Deion Sanders’ name recognition.