Deion Sanders indicated his public flirtation with the Cowboys last year was not serious and said rumors of him leaving Colorado to coach in the NFL were never true.
“They weren’t real at all,” Sanders told Front Office Sports on Tuesday. “I liked playing the pro game, but I wouldn’t enjoy coaching the pro game. It’s a different game.”
Sanders spoke with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones last January after the team opted to not renew former coach Mike McCarthy’s contract—although Sanders and Dallas never conducted an official interview.
Ultimately, the Cowboys promoted Brian Schottenheimer from offensive coordinator to head coach, and Sanders signed a five-year, $54 million contract extension that keeps him at Colorado through 2029 as one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.
“I’m focused on winning and getting these kids through college so they have degrees, and they’re able to attain tremendous professions even after football is over,” Sanders told FOS. “But I have no thought process of the NFL whatsoever.”
Colorado finished the 2025 season with a 3–9 record, the worst mark under Sanders in his three seasons in Boulder, following a 9-4 record in 2024, which included a bowl game appearance.
Coach Prime Supports CFP Expansion
Sanders also told FOS why he and all 15 other Big 12 coaches are in favor of substantial College Football Playoff expansion.
“It would be nice. I would love 24,” he said. “That would be tremendous. If you would have had 24 teams a year ago, a multitude of teams from the Big 12 would have been participating in the playoffs, which would have been perfect for the Big 12. And that’s what we’re standing on. I would love that. I don’t know if we’re going to attain that.”
Meanwhile, Sanders said he was “very proud” of his son, Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, topping the NFL Players Association’s group licensing income list with a record $17.7 million payday in 2025.
“It was a tremendous deal with the NFLPA,” Sanders said.
