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Analyst speculates on Deion Sanders retiring soon as Colorado football HC after Shelomi's transfer portal entry

By Andrew Hughes

Nov 17, 2023; Pullman, Washington, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders runs onto the
Nov 17, 2023; Pullman, Washington, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders runs onto the / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
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Denver Sports' Jake Shapiro wonders if Shelomi Sanders' decision to enter the transfer portal on April 2 means that Deion Sanders will retire from his post as head coach of the Colorado football program; noting that doing so would cost him a pretty penny to do so anytime over the next several seasons.

"Sanders has made a very big deal about his entire family being in Boulder," Shapiro prefaced before saying, "Talking about cousins, aunts and more. Now that one of his collegiate sport-playing athletes is leaving Colorado, could Deion soon follow? The contract Sanders signed at the tail-end of 2022 was for five years at $29.5 million. Sanders would owe the school $10 million if he left before this fall or during the season. That number goes down to $8 million in the third year and $5 million if he leaves after that.

"But Sanders health hasn’t been tip-top the past few years which is one of the reasons he picked Boulder in the first place. Could retirement be near? Moreover, will he leave Boulder like his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders are expected to after this football season? Shedeur and teammate Travis Hunter are both likely top-five picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, and if the family was planning to leave together it would make sense that Shelomi would leave now instead of sticking out another basketball season where her family wouldn’t be around for the majority of it."

Deion Sanders' coaching legacy will be smeared if he leaves Colorado football early without winning anything

Sanders forged a legitimate legacy in the HBCU ranks during his three, well more like two and a half, seasons at Jackson State. Bringing on the No. 1 overall recruit of the 2022 class (Travis Hunter) to Jackson, Mississippi will always be one of the most significant feats a head coach at any level will ever achieve on the recruiting trail.

But if he ends up leaving Colorado after two seasons? And especially if nothing of substance is won by the Buffs in the Big 12?

Then his legacy will be that he couldn't handle the biggest stage after failing to finish the story at an HBCU in the SWAC.

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