If you think a 4-8 season might have derailed the cash train flowing into the University of Colorado in terms of media money, sponsorships, and endorsement deals, think again. As ‘Coach Prime’ Deion Sanders prepares to lead his team into the 2024 season, the deals and the money continue to flow.
On Wednesday, starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders reportedly signed a NIL (name, image, and likeness) endorsement deal with Nike. Bleacher Report notes that the deal includes footwear and apparel, making Sanders the first college football player signed to the mega-brand.
No monetary specifics were reported.
That tops the list of offseason agreements, involving both the University and specific individuals, including the coach himself. Deion Sanders will wear custom and branded headsets on the sideline this season, advertising Aflac. Shedeur was recently tapped as a member of the ‘Beats Elite’ class, with CU branded Beats by Dre headphones. Even 99-year-old superfan Peggy Coppom signed a deal with Deion’s branded sunglasses, Blenders, for a custom sunglasses sleeve.
“The party is still continuing,” marketing professor at Metro State University Darrin Duber-Smith told Denver7. “(Deion Sanders) has brought so much attention and so much money to the University that, frankly, it's really hard to criticize what what's happened there.”
Duber-Smith brought his branding expertise to the conversation, along with University of Denver marketing professor Dan Baack.
“From a branding perspective, just getting attention to Colorado, to the Buffaloes, was a win,” Baack said.
Denver7 anchor Jason Gruenauer posed the same question to both experts - given the deals that have been reported and the amount of brands on the Buffs sidelines, are we getting closer to a NASCAR post-race interview, where the driver thanks a laundry-list of sponsors before answering questions about the race?
Both responded - yes.
Yet, the Buffs will have a chance to showcase their team (and the brands that come along with it), starting Thursday night in primetime on ESPN. Even that, the experts said, points to the continuation of the momentum and the monetary benefit of having a celebrity on the sidelines.
“ESPN prime time opening day. I don't remember anybody ever being excited for University of Colorado,” Duber-Smith said.
Having highly-watched games on television is a part of the revenue puzzle. It’s why both Duber-Smith and Baack added that the pressure to win on the field is higher this year for CU.
“Earned media is the real question. Are people going to really want to see Coach Prime in prime time if CU is still losing by three touchdowns?” Duber-Smith asked.
But on the opposite side of that coin, wins can equate to ratings, a possible Bowl Game (and Bowl Game paycheck), and even more coal to the engine aboard the endorsement express.
