Deion Sanders got unusual publicity bonus from Colorado, records show

The University of Colorado gave an unusual discretionary bonus of $250,000 to football coach Deion Sanders late last year for the national recognition the university received during Sanders’ first year on the job, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The bonus hasn’t been made public until now and was unusual for at least a couple of reasons:

∎ It wasn’t part of any specific stipulation or milestone reached in his employment contract. This made it a gift of sorts for Sanders, who otherwise was paid $5.5 million in his first season at Colorado.

∎ The bonus came shortly after the Buffaloes finished the season on a six-game losing streak and finished 4-8 overall.

“Sanders to earn an Employee Recognition Bonus for the national recognition he has brought to the University and Athletics Department this season,” states the pay form signed by CU officials in early December.

Not many major college football coaches, if any, get huge bonuses that aren’t spelled out in their contracts or after they lose eight of their final nine games of the season. But the university could make the case that Sanders, 56, deserved it.

Why Deion Sanders received this bonus

The employee recognition bonus he received in this case was due to the national publicity he brought to the university as the flamboyant former two-sport star in pro football and baseball.

“The employee recognition bonus is a discretionary bonus awarded by Athletic Director Rick George for the immense impact Coach Prime has made on the football program, the Athletic Department, and the university in his first season,” the university said in a statement this week to USA TODAY Sports.

For example, the university gained about $343 million in “earned media” value during Sanders' first season on the job from July 31 to Nov. 27, according to data provided by the university from Cision, its media-monitoring service. By contrast, it gained only about $87 million during the same period in 2022 before Sanders' arrival in Boulder, when the Buffaloes finished 1-11.

That’s not cash revenue but instead represents the advertising equivalency value of the media exposure that came during the football season, when the Buffs had five of the top 25 most-watched games in all of college football, including the College Football Playoff, according to the university.

Such exposure has residual benefits. CU Boulder since has reported a record number of applicants for the fall 2024 semester and a 50.5% increase in Black applicants.

More context on Coach Prime’s bonus pay

The bonus pay form was signed Dec. 1 by then-CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano, who also authorized it. That happened to be the day after Sports Illustrated named Sanders as its “Sportsperson of the Year,” citing how he revitalized the CU football program. The print edition of the magazine then featured Sanders, DiStefano, George and others from CU in a photograph together on the cover.

The amount of this discretionary bonus still exceeds many other performance-based incentives in his contract that he didn’t reach in his first season, including $150,000 for winning six games and $200,000 for getting invited to a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Last season, Sanders ranked fourth among public-school coaches in the Pac-12 at $5.5 million in guaranteed pay, behind Oregon’s Dan Lanning, who ranked first at $6.6 million, according to the USA TODAY Sports coaches’ pay database.

The Buffaloes open their second season under Sanders Aug. 29 at home against North Dakota State.

Contributing: Steve Berkowitz

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com