The Blaze's Jason Whitlock doesn't believe Deion Sanders is long for Colorado football. Whitlock claimed that Coach Prime's program ran out of NIL money for the Alamo Bowl, hence the key losses defensively, and that he's likely leaving Boulder soon.
"According to someone who should know the ingredients, the situation is ripe, and it is right for Deion Sanders to exit Colorado after its 36-14 Alamo Bowl loss to BYU," Whitlock said. "This isn't a prediction. It's not someone saying it's going to happen. It's someone who is in the know that's followed the program real closely and says, 'Hey, I think the tea leaves are pointing towards Deion leaving Colorado.'
"And this person told me this, because, going into the Alamo Bowl, Colorado was out of NIL money. Just doesnt have the budget for what Deion was doing."
It gets worse. Whitlock claimed some players were out parting for days prior to the BYU matchup and not taking the game seriously.
“These were primarily offensive players,” Whitlock said. “They spent two nights partying… and you wonder why their focus wasn’t there.”
Coach Prime presumably used a large chunk of NIL money to cover Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter's NFL draft insurance. Whitlock claims that led to the rest of the players getting a poor compensation package in San Antonio.
“They had to do everything on a strict budget. BYU players got amazing gift bags and had an amazing bowl experience. Colorado was on a very strict budget, and the players were frustrated by it," Whitlock said.
If the NIL part is true, Shedeur and Hunter's exits should open up a large chunk of budget for other players. It's possible the Buffs will get better because of that despite losing two top-10 Heisman finalists in the same offseason.
The alternative is Boulder's worst nightmare. Deep breaths, Colorado fans.