Colorado's Deion Sanders continues wave of trademark filings

Deion Sanders is clearly the story of the 2023 college football season.

Colorado opened the year 3-0, kickstarting TV ratings and making Boulder the capital of the sport. Despite losses against Oregon and USC, the former NFL and MLB star has still captured the nation’s attention now at the midway mark.

Now Sanders can guide Colorado to bowl eligibility in Year 1 in Boulder. The Buffs finished 1-11 a year ago. They’re currently 4-2. A win over Stanford this weekend would put them in a great spot to reach the six-win mark needed.

Sanders has capitalized off the on-field success through his business, Prime Time Enterprises. The incorporation has filed a number of trademarks in the last six weeks, including “Coach Prime,” “WE KEEP RECEIPTS” and “PRIME EFFECT.”

Before last week’s game at Arizona State, the head coach filed to trademark five new phrases and word marks. All five were filed by his attorney, Jessany Garret, per the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database. 

The Colorado head coach has filed to trademark:

• “GIVE ME MY THEME MUSIC”
• “BULL JUNK”
• “PRIME TIME BY DEION SANDERS”
• “WEAR BY ERIN ANDREWS X PRIME 21”
• “D B”

If there is a motto that has become a pop culture phrase this season, it’s “GIVE ME MY THEME MUSIC.” Sanders has actually been saying that since he was at Jackson State. But now with Colorado, it’s become even more popular. The nation got its first peek when his pregame speech for the TCU game went viral. Clips have followed, with Colorado superfan Peggy Coppom yelling the same phrase after Sanders’ home-opening win over Nebraska.

Instead of cussing, Sanders has been saying “BULL JUNK” all season long. He used it when referring to Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell’s comments about taking off his hat and sunglasses like an adult. He also said it about stories that media members wrote this offseason. The trademark description says “BULL JUNK” would be for a range of clothing options.

An interesting one is “D B.” According to the trademark filing, the word mark would consist of a “stylized interlocking design of the letters ‘D’ and ‘B,’ where the vertical line of the ‘B’ seamlessly integrates with the straight portion of the ‘D,’ and the curved parts of both letters are distinct yet adjacent to each other.”

The letters “D B” are not associated with Sanders, however, the Colorado head coach did play defensive back during his playing days. “DB” is included in Colorado star Travis Hunter’s Instagram handle.

“PRIME TIME BY DEION SANDERS” has all the makings of a clothing line. The trademark filing also makes that clear, saying the phrase’s purpose would be for clothing. The same goes for “WEAR BY ERIN ANDREWS X PRIME 21.” WEAR by Erin Andrews is a sports clothing brand for women run by the sideline reporter and available on Fanatics.

Deion Sanders finds success early at Colorado

The Buffaloes enter Friday night’s game against Stanford with a 4-2 record, a place many didn’t think Deion Sanders would be sitting at halfway through the season.

Colorado’s fast start has resulted in a TV ratings bonanza for the networks, as all eyes have been on the Buffs. One week after attracting 7.26 million viewers for its season-opening victory over then-No. 17 TCU, Colorado saw 8.73 million tune in for its home-opening win over rival Nebraska. Colorado-Colorado State averaged 9.3 million viewers four weeks ago, which broke the previous ESPN late prime window viewership high.

USC-Colorado averaged 7.24 million viewers, while the week before Oregon-Colorado recorded 10.03 million viewers on ABC despite a blowout.

Sanders continues to succeed in other business projects, too. According to Chase Fisher, Blenders Eyewear CEO, more than 65,000 to 70,000 of the “Prime 21” sunglasses have been pre-ordered. That number is only rising. The shades sell for $67, the year Sanders was born (1967). He asked for them to be priced at that number, which was originally $69. Quick math says the company has made at least $4.5 million off the sunglasses from pre-orders. 

Sanders’ Colorado home-opener produced $18 million in revenue for the Boulder area, per estimates released by the Visit Boulder Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.