Deion Sanders' Colorado football tenure has been chronicled closely by several reporters, but USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer has been one of the primary sources of the biggest scoops.
Schrotenboer's latest piece featured a report, titled, "New Colorado financial report shows 'Prime Effect' and challenges if Deion Sanders leaves ," about CU's revenue during the 2023-24 academic calendar, aka the first year of "Prime Time" in Boulder.
It was framed in a way that indicated there were active tea leaves pointing towards Sanders' departure from Colorado.
"The Colorado athletic department reported record revenue and football ticket sales in fiscal year 2024, leading to an $8.2 million 'profit' after posting deficits in five of the previous six years, according to a financial report filed by Colorado recently with the NCAA," Schrotenboer wrote.
"The Coach Prime Effect of Sanders’ hiring helped lead the department to a record $146.6 million in reported revenue and a record $31.2 million in football ticket sales, which is roughly double the previous school record.
"But the overall athletic department revenue still includes a school-record $31.9 million in allocated funds from the university in the form of direct institutional support ($27.1 million), indirect institutional support ($3.1 million) and student fees ($1.7 million). Without that, Colorado still would have posted record generated revenue but not nearly enough to keep up with its reported expenses.
"The report underscores the power of the Prime Effect at Colorado while also showing the challenges the university faces during a turbulent time in college sports for all schools, especially if Sanders leaves for the NFL as speculation about it swirls."
Between Sanders speaking with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about the head coach opening in Dallas and the continued link between Shedeur Sanders and Tom Brady with the Las Vegas Raiders, Coach Prime's time in Boulder feels finite.
Even if he does return, the NFL rumors will never go away. There could've been allegiance sworn to Boulder, but Coach Prime made it clear his options are always open.