When Colorado hired Deion Sanders to lead its football program in December, athletic director Rick George said the university didn’t yet have the money to pay Coach Prime his five-year, $29.5 million salary, not including bonuses/incentives.
We’re now four games into Sanders’ tenure and the investment has done far more than just pay for itself. According to a report from USA TODAY Sports, the return value on Coach Prime stands at an estimated $280 million through the first month of his first season.
The vast majority of that estimated $280 million comes from increased media exposure (h/t Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY Sports):
The $280 million is a conservative estimate compiled by USA TODAY Sports. It includes increases in football ticket sales from last year ($20 million), increases in donations ($8 million), increases in other categories (at least $3 million) and the estimated value of the increased media exposure that came with hiring a Pro Football Hall of Famer who attracts so many cameras ($249 million).
The actual number is likely much higher but couldn’t be estimated because data for some revenue categories wasn’t available, including donations to the school after June 30 and merchandise sales at campus stores.
To clear up any confusion, that $280 million is based on increased revenue in those four aforementioned areas compared to the year prior to Coach Prime’s arrival.
Schrotenboer wrote that in September alone, CU generated over 31,000 media mentions, which translates to an estimated ad equivalency of $128 million.
Take a look back at Coach Prime’s tenure so far: