Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishBy Stewart Mandel, David Ubben, Bruce Feldman and Christopher KamraniColorado announced a new five-year, $54 million contract for coach Deion Sanders on Friday. The contract raises Sanders’ salary from $5.7 million in 2024 to $10 million this year, making him one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in the country.Now entering his third season, Sanders was down to two years remaining on his original contract signed upon his hire in December 2022. Athletic director Rick George had been negotiating a new deal with the coach since at least late last year, during which time Sanders — known as Coach Prime — was briefly considered a candidate for the Dallas Cowboys job.“Coach Prime has revolutionized college football and in doing so, has restored CU football to our rightful place as a national power,” George said.“This extension not only recognizes Coach’s incredible accomplishments transforming our program on and off the field, it keeps him in Boulder to compete for conference and national championships in the years to come.”Colorado went 1-11 the year before Sanders took over. After a 4-8 debut season, he led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record in 2024, finishing in a four-way tie for first in the Big 12. Receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy. Quarterback Sheduer Sanders, the coach’s son, earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.Hunter, Sanders and safety Shilo Sanders, Shedeur’s brother, moved on after last season.As the school mentioned in its announcement, Sanders also turned Colorado into one of the most-watched teams in the country over the past two seasons, with its games often drawing some of the highest TV ratings each week. Its Alamo Bowl loss to BYU on ABC was the most-watched game in that bowl’s history.Sanders’ new deal ends a somewhat awkward standoff since the end of his second season in Boulder, when he led the program to the 9-4 finish, the program’s third winning season since 2005. Sanders had been the Big 12’s fourth-highest paid coach and had a contract offer since the end of the season but hadn’t agreed to an extension of his previous five-year contract.During a cameo appearance on “The Morning Run” podcast earlier this month, Sanders made a cryptic remark about money before leaving the room as quickly as he entered it.“These people better go and get my money and stop playing. Bye. Bye,” he said, exiting the screen.Sanders was asked about his contract at a news conference on March 17, his first meeting with reporters since the end of the season. He said there were “maybe” talks with the university about a raise and extension.“I don’t know. I ain’t worried about me. Let’s get everybody else straight first,” he said. “Then I’m good.”Why this deal makes sense for ColoradoIf any college head coach earned a big extension this winter, it is Sanders. Colorado was truly atrocious before he came to Boulder two years ago.It wasn’t just the team’s one-win season before Sanders’ arrival, but in each of the team’s 11 losses, they were blown out. In his first game at CU, the Buffs knocked off a ranked team at their place that played in the national title game its last time out. He almost instantly made CU nationally relevant for the first time in about 25 years.Then last season, he leads the Buffs to 9-4 and a top 25 finish for only the second time in 20 seasons. He also showed a keen eye for staffing by hiring defensive coordinator Robert Livingston and giving the former Bengals assistant his first job as a play-caller, which proved to be a brilliant move. In addition, Sanders went 27-6 at a Jackson State program that had not had a winning season in seven years.It will be interesting to see how the Buffs do in life after Sanders’ two biggest recruits — Hunter and Shedeur Sanders — have now moved on to the NFL, but the coach has been doubted before, and proved so many people wrong. It made a lot of sense that the Buffs have opted to go all in to keep him in Boulder. — Bruce Feldman, national college insiderSanders does it his wayWith the advent of the portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) forcing college football to change forever, Sanders promised to build his roster like NFL free agency. He did not apologize when other coaches criticized the plan or its controversial execution. He clapped back. In Year 1 at Colorado, Sanders and his staff brought in 87 new players. In 2024, there were 65 newcomers. Adapt to the Sanders Way, or as he’s said so often, back your bags.“I never take a step back,” Sanders said in mid-November. “I try to take a step up. I’m always with my head out the window: I’m trying to see around the corner, not trying to see straight ahead. It’s normalcy to see what’s in front of them. I’m trying to see around the corner.”Before the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, Sanders said he had a “kickstand down” in Boulder, meaning he wasn’t on the prowl for another higher-profile job with a university that could splash the cash in a way Colorado could not. Sanders nipped the speculation in the bud before it could further spin out of control throughout November, saying: “We ain’t going nowhere. We’re about to get comfortable.”He’s once again backed up the big talk as the program enters the next phase of the Prime evolution.With his sons and Hunter having moved on, Sanders and company have their successor at quarterback in place. Colorado secured a commitment from five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who decommitted from USC. And Kaidon Salter transferred in from Liberty. — Chris Vannini, national college football writer (Photo: Ron Chenoy / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Keep Reading
