Deion Sanders' hype train drives unprecedented attention, cash flow to Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. – It is a flashback that Rick George probably has shared dozens, if not hundreds of times since Deion Sanders arrived to ignite a new movement at Colorado.
George, CU’s athletic director for a decade, was waiting to board a flight at DFW Airport – Gate E-7, he notes – when the call came in from Sanders and his business manager, Constance Schwartz-Morini.
Trying to lure Sanders from Jackson State, George braced himself for a letdown.
“Usually, when you get these calls, it’s not good,” George told USA TODAY Sports, sitting across a table from Sanders in the cafeteria dedicated to student-athletes at Folsom Field.
Instead, Sanders, aka “Coach Prime,” uttered four words that changed the course Colorado’s football history and have reverberated across the college landscape: “Hey man, we coming.’ “
George chuckled as he recalled his immediate response.
“What does that mean?” he replied.
There was no misinterpretation. Sanders had indeed decided to bolt from Jackson State – the decision finalized in early December when, he said, God whispered to him as he ate lunch – and was signed to a five-year contract worth $29.5 million.
As they wrapped up the call, Sanders said: “Have a good flight.”
George: “Damn right I will.”
Fittingly, “We Coming“ is now a slogan emblazoned in gold on the front of black T-shirts and sweatshirts that also contain the CU logo.
That’s how Sanders, 56, has rolled for decades. Not only was “Prime Time” one of America’s greatest and most celebrated athletes during his heyday, he also was a promoter and pitchman of the highest order.
Of course, that marketing prowess is attached to his presence as coach – first at Jackson State, and now in this role. And it only begins to symbolize the stunning value added by Sanders, who is undoubtedly the most recognizable face among coaches on the college landscape.
During the brief pursuit, Sanders reiterated, “You’re going to get a lot more than you think.”
“Well, I’ve seen that every week,” George said. “It hasn’t stopped yet.”
Sure, George knew all about the buzz that surrounds Sanders and envisioned how it could benefit a football program that has produced just two winning seasons in the last 17 years – with one of them coming in the abbreviated 2020 campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic – and served as a Pac-12 doormat last season with a 1-11 finish.
“He had the value that was important to us,” George said. “He was right.”
And how.
When the school staged the annual spring game in April, it drew a school-record 47,277 fans.
For context, consider that the crowd represented more than the total for the previous nine spring games combined. The attendance for the spring game in 2022: 1,950.
And yes, the spring game was broadcast by ESPN, signaling the start of a pattern.
The Buffaloes open with at least their first three games spotlighted on national TV. The debut on Saturday at TCU and the home opener against Nebraska on Sept. 9 will air in the “Big Noon” window on Fox. The Sept. 16 home matchup against Colorado State will air in prime time on ESPN.
“That exceeds expectations,” George said.
Did somebody mention that the Buffs are coming off a 1-11 campaign?
No matter. Sanders, who won back-to-back SWAC titles at Jackson State but has never coached at a school on the Power Five level, is the intriguing storyline begging to be noticed.
Sanders told USA TODAY Sports, “I’m a hope agent.”
There are so many layers to that.
“We affect everything,” Sanders said. “We affect ticket sales, we affect apparel sales. We affect and we know we have the propensity to do that.”
Beyond the immense national exposure that helps in attracting premier football recruits, far-reaching impact likely looms. The alumni base is undoubtedly energized, which should be reflected in donations to the school. And the university’s enrollment – including out-of-state students paying higher tuition – likely will receive a boost.
Given the impact Sanders is expected to ignite on pure business components, the contract paying the coach nearly $6 million per year might be quite the bargain.
Consider that the season-ticket renewal rate for the Buffaloes is the highest in at least 20 years. The revenue that the school receives for royalties from apparel and other merchandise has skyrocketed.
According to The Denver Post, sales of apparel on Fanatics, the school’s e-commerce partner, were up more than 100% in late July compared to the same time period in 2022. The Post reported that for the 2022-23 fiscal year that ended on July 1, royalties amounted to $1.99 million, while internet searches on Google were up 27% over the first six months of the year.
Talk about the impact of “Coach Prime." With the football team becoming such a hot ticket, the Boulder economy – including hotels, restaurants, vendors – is poised to cash in.
Sanders knows. He is a savvy strategist who recognizes potential and seizes opportunities. That’s why the behind-the-scenes video programming produced by his son, Deion, Jr., and distributed on YouTube – and in the form of a documentary on Amazon – might be a new model for how schools sell their programs.
Sure, nobody sells it quite like Sanders, with his high energy, electric smile and memorable soundbites. A generation ago, he created the “Neon Deion” persona as he transitioned from Florida State to the NFL, and proved that cornerbacks, like quarterbacks and receivers, can become major endorsers. Now the footprint is so much more substantial, as the administrators at Jackson State can vouch for.
“I understand the calling, the level of the calling,” Sanders said. ”If you just listed all the things we’ve accomplished, in not playing a game yet … everything has gone up. Everything is phenomenal. This is my calling.”
As hot as it is now for Coach Prime, winning might be the ultimate factor that determines whether he can sustain the hype and promise.
He hardly sounds worried, which is pretty much Prime personified.
“What have we always done in life? Changed the game,” he said. “You looked at cornerbacks totally different after we changed the game. Looked at returners different after we changed the game. Looked at the pay for cornerbacks totally different because we always change the game. Two sports. Changed the game. Endorsements. Changed the game.
“So, God has called us to change the game over here. We’re going to continue doing it, just because we are coaching them. Power Five don’t mean we can’t change the game, because we are going to continue to change the game.”
Then Sanders flashed a huge grin.
“I don’t know why they doubt us,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time.”
If only he can get used to the cold, up in Rocky Mountain country. During his entire NFL career and during his college years at Florida State, Sanders, a Fort Meyers, Florida, native, never played in a snow game. He still has a home outside of Dallas, and maintains, “When it’s 20 (degrees) in Texas, ain’t nobody going out the house.”
So, what happens as the much-anticipated spring game loomed? It snowed. In April. It was a welcome-to-football-in-Colorado moment. After more than two inches fell overnight, Sanders wanted to cancel the game.
This is where mega marketing and pure football clashed.
“I didn’t want to play,” Sanders said.
Never mind the TV exposure, thousands of fans and the local weather patterns.
“I’m thinking it’s going to be soggy and muddy,” Sanders said. “I’m not fixing to get Shedeur (Sanders, his son and starting quarterback) and Travis (Hunter, the team's two-way star) or any of these guys, hurt. Over no spring game. No!”
This sentiment prompted another type of call with George. And a former San Francisco 49ers teammate, Merton Hanks, now executive associate commissioner of the Pac-12, also called.
“That’s my dawg,” Sanders said of Hanks, a former All-Pro safety. “Mert was like, ‘Hey man, look: ‘I don’t care if you go out there for five minutes, you’re going out there today. We’ve got the whole world wanting to see y’all.’ “
Sanders looked out his office at the stadium and saw the grounds crew at work. His fears were ultimately relieved.
“The grounds crew did the best job I ever saw,” he recalled. “Once I got off the phone with Rick and all of them, I’m looking out the window and they are going to work down there! The field kept clearing and clearing. Then, when I finally went down to test it, the grass was wonderful.
“It still snowed during the game,” he added. “But the place was packed.”
Time for a new slogan to sell on the T-shirts. They’re coming? That’s old news.
Try this: “We’re here!”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders' hype train drives massive attention, money to Colorado
