Deion Sanders opens up on if Colorado was treated fairly in 2023

Deion Sanders had a lot of time to reflect on his first season at Colorado. When he joined RG3 and The Ones, Sanders was asked by Robert Griffin III if he was treated fairly.

Now, the former Heisman Trophy winner asked a loaded question and there’s no doubt Sanders faced criticism throughout 2023. Whether it was deserved or not during Colorado’s hot start or late season slide, Sanders brushed it off.

The way he put it, he didn’t give a darn.

“First of all, I really don’t give a darn how we’re treated honestly,” Sanders said. “I really don’t care. I can’t say what’s fair, what’s unfair. I really can’t say what’s fair to who because they’re thought process is not my thought process. I’m going to always come with criticism because of who I am. And then that’s going to project on our kids because they play for me, as well as the coaches. 

“So it would never be the same love or compassion. It’s always going to be a use-use type of situation. That’s what it’s always gonna be. You’re gonna use me for clicks. But you gonna hit me while they click.”

It was easy to criticize Sanders considering the team was 3-0 and then finished 4-8. But he ultimately gave the program hope for the future.

“We implemented hope. Now? There’s expectation,” Sanders said. “We’re going from hope to expectation. First-year head coaches? This is hard to fathom. First-year head coaches that took over a program that were fired? We had the best record of people that were fired that someone came in and took over the program.”

The effect of Coach Prime was present regardless of the record. No program generated attention quite like the Buffs did over the first month or so of last season.

The question now is how they turn that general success into a total one when they pair it with their play on the field. That’s the answer that Sanders is currently looking for as he enters Year 2 in Boulder.

“I’m not going to get into the numbers of viewers, apparel, and this or that. The city making $21 million every weekend of a home game? I’m not going to even get into all that. But it has been a tremendous success off the field,” Sanders said.

“We’ve just got to make it a success on the field. We’ve got to go from that hope to fulfilling and exceeding expectations.”