What Is Deion Sanders' Contract Buyout If Colorado Fires HC After 3-9 Season?

The Colorado Buffaloes football team ended their season Saturday with a 24-14 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats, giving them a disappointing 3-9 record on the year.

While posting a losing mark in two out of three seasons would be enough to call a head coach's job security into question in some cases, the University of Colorado would be on the hook for a large payout if it decides to fire Deion Sanders.

According to USA Today, Sanders is the 14th-highest-paid coach in FBS with an annual salary of $8.975 million, and his contract buyout of $33.625 million is the 20th-highest.

While no legitimate rumors have surfaced regarding Coach Prime being on the outs in Boulder, it won't necessarily stop critics from questioning his long-term viability as Colorado's head coach.

After enjoying success at the FCS level as the head coach at Jackson State, Sanders arrived at Colorado in 2023.

The Buffs went just 4-8 in his first season on the job, but that was a notable improvement from the 1-11 mark they posted in 2022.

Colorado was much improved in 2024 thanks largely to the play of two-way star Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Thanks to his excellence at both wide receiver and cornerback, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy. Shedeur, who is Deion's son, won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors to boot.

Overall, Colorado finished 9-4, which represented the program's best record since going 10-4 in 2016.

Hunter and Sanders made the move to the NFL following the 2024 campaign, which put Coach Prime's recruiting classes since arriving at Colorado to the test.

Ultimately, Sanders cycled through multiple starting quarterbacks, and the Buffaloes lost seven of their final eight games, giving them a Big 12 record of 1-8, which was the second-worst mark in the conference.

Two weeks ago, Sanders insisted he was still the right person to guide Colorado moving forward, telling reporters, "You've got the right man. I promise you, you do. And I'm going to prove that to you. Just give me an opportunity and a little more time, and I'm going to prove that to you."

While the 2025 season was a letdown given the excitement 2024 brought, all signs point toward Sanders being given at least one more season to prove that he can get the job done without Hunter and Shedeur in the fold.