Colorado overpaid Deion Sanders after bowl game error, per report
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Colorado overpaid Deion Sanders after bowl game error, per report originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Colorado Buffaloes athletic department was so caught up in the "Prime Effect" that Deion Sanders received a bonus he didn’t earn.
After taking the Buffs to an Alamo Bowl appearance in 2024, Sanders was overpaid by $50,000 in error, according to USA TODAY Sports. This was a minor misunderstanding of Coach Prime's contract and not realizing the bowl game in San Antonio, Texas isn't one of college football's New Year Six contests.
"Sanders’ employment contract called for him to get a $150,000 bonus if his team was invited to a non-New Year’s Six bowl game and a $200,000 bonus if his team got an invitation to a New Year’s Six game," according to the report. "The $50,000 overpayment was “paid to the Head Coach due to the misclassification of the Alamo Bowl as a NY6 bowl rather than the non-NY6 incentive provision specified in the Head Coach’s contract.”
Sanders wasn't the only one with a bit extra in his paycheck. Colorado's assistant coaches and staff received an additional $71,333 for the same bowl game, which resulted in a $1.2 million loss on the books.
The official New Year’s Six bowl games are Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton and Peach bowls. The Alamo falls short, but does all between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
MORE: Deion Sanders reveals real reason Shedeur's NFL draft slide hurt
Sanders needs a nine-win season in 2026 to break even with a .500 record over the course of his four years at Colorado. The Buffaloes finished last year with a 3-9 record after Sanders inked a contract making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
Colorado will open the 2026 season in Sanders' old stomping grounds of Atlanta against Georgia Tech. The Big 12- ACC match-up under the Thursday Night Lights will be on Sept. 3 with coverage on ESPN.
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