CU chancellor impressed with Deion Sanders, but stresses winning isn't everything for Colorado football

CU chancellor Justin Schwartz sounds like a fan of Deion Sanders, but he stressed that he's a bigger fan of not sacrificing morality for wins -- likely meaning Colorado football won't have rule-breaking advantages as long as he's around.

“I’m a fan, but I’m also a fan of doing things the right way,” Schwartz said (h/t BuffZone). “I’ve never ascribed to the win-at-all-cost (mentality). There have been plenty of examples of how not to do things. One of the things I truly appreciate about Rick and the coaches that I’ve met is that there’s no space between us on that. From the coaches I’ve talked to so far, the commitment to the individual student is prime.

“I was truly impressed with how much (Coach Prime) talked about individual players, by name. It was great to meet him and I look forward to see him continue to help our student-athletes advance. I told him that I really appreciate the fact that he talks to them about the importance of excellence in everything you do, not just on the field, not just on game day, but that if you have that attitude across everything you do, then it becomes who you are.”

Colorado football opening up NIL money to spend in 2025 and beyond

Any under-the-table deals Schwartz may or may not approve of likely happened in 2023, when Shedeur and Shilo Sanders and Travis Hunter became millionaires via NIL. A good amount of their earnings came from direct pay-to-play as opposed to endorsement deals.

Once those three move on to the NFL, there will be few big earners on the roster. The Buffs could spread that wealth around to have better two-man depth in the event of a catastrophic injury.

Of course, that's if Coach Prime sticks around. His friend Dan Patrick doesn't believe he's a goner in the interim, but gave an expiration date of his time in Boulder of one to two years.