Op-Ed: Is Deion Sanders' media exposure bonus actually a slap in the face?

Coach Prime worth to Colorado might be more than initially stated

Paul Finebaum and Stephen A. Smith comments on Deion Sanders /

When two loud prominent sports analysts hurl takes that make fans wonder if there is smoke before the fire, questions become abundant. What they’re saying might have some truth, and something can be going on that has yet to rear its ugly head.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum was the first to say something about Coach Prime being a better fit at USC. Why this is significant is because there isn’t an opening in near Hollywood. Could Lincoln Riley allegedly be on the hot seat because Trojan fans are getting tired of not seeing them play for a national championship? We will have to wait and see how the season turns out to answer that one.

Stephen A Smith then starts saying he doesn’t like Coach Prime in Boulder and needs to leave Colorado to go elsewhere. There is more from that should be evaluated from his take. Especially when he says he has talked to Deion Sanders about it.

Is Smith using the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene to justify why Prime should leave the Buffs football program? If so, here are two laws for review. Law No. 7: “Get others To do the work for you, but always take credit,” and Law No. 43: “Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others”

That last one is something Sanders has incorporated in his everyday life with the positive messages he shares on social media. In fact, here’s an example from earlier today.

If God told u SPECIFICALLY what to do and who to take on the ARK like he did NOAH who would that be & what purpose would they serve? It's a lot folks around u ain't qualified to be on that ARK because they ain't gon help u during the storm or after. Think about that. #CoachPrime

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) July 24, 2024

Why does Smith believe Boulder isn’t a good fit for Sanders? He has been prosperous in ways he never expected. Also, he has opened doors for others that wouldn’t be available elsewhere. Could this be coming on the heels of the $250,000 exposure bonus Coach Prime received from the University of Colorado? According to USA TODAY, it was given to him for helping CU gain $343 million in “earned media” from July 31 to Nov 27 in 2023, compared to the $87 million from 2022.

Sanders revived a struggling football program, and yet, he only received a fraction of the proceeds that Colorado was able to pocket. It was a significant surplus of revenue from attaching his name to the university. That may not be sitting well with him.

Coach Prime considers himself a marketing master. When he attaches his name and personality to a product, consumers can purchase or put their hands, all of that comes with a cost. He may feel the gesture put forward by CU wasn't enough. Remember, Sanders helped the school make four times the amount of money, based on earned media, than the year before he arrived.

By Smith and Finebaum acting as agents and speaking on his behalf without saying a word, that brings up another law of power. Law No. 31: “Get others to play with the cards you deal.” When you think about all of this on a deeper level, there is more to this than two men arguing on a studio set.

Is it possible that Sanders is telling us that he followed the instructions, found the people that would serve, and took them on the arc and things didn’t go the way he expected, and now is the time to move on? Stay tuned.