"Deion Sanders is underpaid": Fox Insider weighs in on Coach Prime's massive $54 million extension

Last week, Deion Sanders became one of the highest-paid college football coaches in the Big 12 after the Colorado Buffaloes offered him a five-year, $54 million extension. This will help Coach Prime earn an annual salary of more than $10 million, along with incentives and other bonuses.

This salary will gradually increase as he reaches the end of his contract by the 2029 season. Despite such a massive deal, Fox analyst Dan Beyer believes that the veteran head coach is actually underpaid when you compare his raise to the output he has produced in just two years at the program.

While speaking to Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio, Beyer shared his analysis of Sanders’s tenure in Colorado:

“It felt so unnatural at first, like it was such a drastic shock to the system to see him stand in front of the players that were on the team, saying, like, listen, honestly, 'Most of you aren't going to be here.'"

“It was such a shock to your system to see a head coach say that to his players. And he was right. And there, there was flak that he got for moving players out quickly and bringing in his own players, and that was part of the transition, but the growth from year one to year two, and I mean, the success that they had, the program seemed to stabilize."

"So when you talk about the value of the money and everything that you see with it, it goes back to enrollment which goes back to, excitement, Deion is underpaid even when he's getting this raise today,” Beyer concluded.

The Fox radio host outlined that the value Deion has brought to the program completely outweighs his new salary. He has generated a lot more money for the community with his bold and unpopular decisions to transform the program into something drastically different.

Sanders joined the Buffs in the 2023 season when the program had one of the worst records in its history (1-11). He led a major revamp by bringing in new coaches and more importantly, top athletes he knew were going to flourish, a lot of them from Jackson State.

Someone like Travis Hunter is a good example. With a loaded roster, the Buffs recorded a 4-8 season. And after that in 2024, they made a major breakthrough in the form of a postseason bowl game eligibility for the first time since 2020.

Along with Hunter's Heisman and other accolades, Sanders was able to develop NFL-worthy athletes who will make their debut in 2025.

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Deion Sanders aiming for a College Football Playoff this season

After a 9-4 campaign last year, the Buffs will be setting new goals for 2025, especially after Sanders loaded the coaching roster with hall-of-famer talents like Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp.

This year, the veteran coach will not have his two sons Shedeur and Shilo by his side, which had been a reason for criticism over the last couple of years.

Since college football has expanded to 12 teams, it gives Colorado more of a chance to contend for the spot. Looking at their streak, this looks possible.

Freshman QB Julian Lewis or Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter would be starting for the team as Shedeur’s replacement.