Deion Sanders' Colorado Contract Buyout Info After Historic Blowout Loss to Utah

There have been ups and downs throughout Deion Sanders' tenure as the head coach of Colorado, but Saturday's 53-7 blowout loss to Utah was undoubtedly one of the low points.

In fact, it was the team's biggest margin of defeat since he took over as the head coach ahead of the 2023 season. It was also the biggest final margin in the 72-game history between the two schools.

Sanders faced criticism thanks to the historic loss with some looking at how much money Colorado owes him.

According to USA Today's database, Sanders is the 14th-highest paid coach in the country with a buyout of $33.6 million.

Colorado Buffaloes - Utah Utes Highlights

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While a number of high-profile programs such as Florida and Penn State have already moved on from their head coaches, ending the Sanders era feels like it would be fairly drastic. After all, this was a Buffaloes team that was 1-11 in 2022 the year before the Hall of Famer arrived.

Colorado has also won double-digit games just once since the 2001 season and doesn't exactly have the tradition of consistent success that Penn State did when it decided to fire James Franklin or Florida did when it fired Billy Napier.

Sanders was just 4-8 in his first season in 2023 but breathed life into the stagnant program and put it back on the national stage. He then led Colorado to a 9-4 campaign in 2024 with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders leading the way for a club that remained in the Big 12 title race late into the season.

Yet it seems like the Buffaloes have taken a step backward in 2025, as Saturday's loss dropped them to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play.

It wasn't just the loss that stood out but how ugly the performance was overall. They had minus-18 total yards of offense at halftime while facing a 43-0 deficit before Utah put things on cruise control and played a number of players after intermission in a game that was never in doubt.

Colorado quarterbacks Ryan Staub and Kaidon Salter went a combined 13-of-30 for 102 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception, and the visitors ran for 38 yards on 38 carries.

There wasn't any silver lining to point to, and the Buffaloes will now need to win three of their final four games to become bowl eligible. It will be an uphill battle for a program that has been unable to build on last year's success.