Official reason why the New Deal for Coach Prime Will Be $100 Million or More.
Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime, is the head football coach of the Colorado Buffaloes (CU), so I took a plane to Boulder, Colorado, to observe him in action.
Using the term “coach” to describe Sanders is simply too limited, as I learned during my visit.
Everybody is enthralled by his natural charisma because of his power.
There is plenty of justification for Colorado to rip up his contract and give him the best pay deal ever given to a coach in college football history after he just lost two straight games by combined scores of 90-47.
This is why.
I recently wrote on college football coaches’ increasing authority and how Sanders was ushering in the era of the charismatic coach.
But I badly misjudged his power, not just on college football, but on the university, the media, commerce, the Boulder economy, and culture.
When I first got to Boulder, Folsom Field on the campus of the University of Colorado was the center of the intensity and fervor that radiated throughout the entire city and among the fans.
Furthermore, tailgates, sports bars, and hotels have experienced record growth, with Boulder mayor Aaron Brockett forecasting a $100 million local economic impact across six home games.
Colorado has sold out every home football game this season for the first time in school history.
When CU lost its first game, many people assumed the train would derailed. Coach Prime praised the Oregon squad on their 42-6 victory after observing that they were 3-1 and not satisfied. But then he issued a warning to the rest of the world: “You better get us now because this is the worst we’re going to be. ” Coach Prime’s post-game analysis twisted things perfectly and almost made it appear like a little hiccup.
Then, after a 48-41 loss to USC last weekend, Coach Prime was unfazed. After expressing his pride in his squad, he stated, “If you can’t see what’s coming with CU football, you’ve lost your mind… Something is wrong with you if you can’t see what’s going on and what’s going to happen in the coming months. ”.
Despite these two losses, there is little indication that the Prime Effect is slowing. There hasn’t been a single decline in enthusiasm among the CU faithful. After the USC loss, I went to the CU merchandise store, which was fully packed with people waiting in line to buy. Sales have nearly tripled since last year, with September sales rising 2,544 percent over the previous month.
Erik Rebich, a CU booster, spoke with me.
“I get asked about Coach Prime by people who never cared before his arrival,” he said of Sanders’ impact on the Boulder community.
The economic impact on both the school and the city of Boulder is unprecedented in our experience. With the value he brings to the school, it seems logical that they keep him around for a long time. ”.
So, how should CU proceed?
The remedy is simple: immediately terminate Coach Prime’s present contract, which pays him $6 million per year for five years, and sign him to a $100 million-plus 10-year contract. What’s extra $70 million when Sanders is expected to generate over $1 billion in economic benefit alone over the course of the agreement?
In fact, as part of his agreement, Sanders may insist on the establishment of a NIL fund to ensure that CU can compete with all of the other institutions in delivering NIL perks to all of its players, not just the stars—not that he needs much assistance in recruiting. Whatever it takes, CU must immediately lock up Coach Prime with a long-term, ironclad contract to avoid the very real possibility that he will be aggressively pursued and possibly poached by another program in desperate need of miraculous transformation.
. It’s known as The “Prime Effect” among locals.
I saw Fox Sports’ Big Noon pre-game television show live on location at the CU campus.
People were going crazy.
It was the third week in a row that a network chose to broadcast from the CU campus.
Both shows’ and the game’s ratings have been out of this world.
The week before, over 10 million people witnessed Oregon shellac CU.
I interacted with a slew of superstars who had come into Boulder to be a part of Coach Prime’s extravaganza as I strolled down the field before the game.
This has never happened before at CU.