Fran Brown is winning on and beyond the field. Syracuse is coming off a 10-win season. The former Georgia assistant and a top recruit has changed the course of Orange football with his DART philosophy and a strong eye for talent. Heading into the 2025 season, Brown is looking to build a better and stronger roster with two key replacements for Kyle McCord. They brought in two quarterbacks, LSU’s Rickie Collins and Notre Dame’s Steve Angeli. But before we can see how it turns out for the Orange, Brown has a bombshell to drop.

The Syracuse football team is hosting two days of fun and football experience for kids this summer with Franchise Next Gen. A free event exclusively designed for children ages 7-12. Registration has been open for months. Participants can attend the event on Sunday, June 22, from 1 to 4 p.m. and/or Monday, June 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. Participants have a dress code for on-field drills and football action hosted by HC Brown and the Syracuse football staff. The event will take place at the Ensley Athletics Center.

It will certainly be an opportunity for the kids to show up and get closer to their favorite team, and learn a lot. But it’s not just that he is shaping the future generations, he is actively giving out a lot to his current players, not just psychologically, but also financially.

National champion Ohio State reportedly paid its players around $20 million last year, while LSU reportedly plans to pay athletes around $13 million next year. Brown also said he hopes the local community and Syracuse-based collectives will be able to raise between $6 and $8 million annually to pay football players.

“I think that our chancellor and our athletic director are truly, truly behind football and our athletic department,” Fran Brown said. “So, within the next year we should be in the top 25 percent, I’m hoping. As long as we go out and handle business.”

However, that’s not even it. Brown paired up with none other than Colorado head coach Deion Sanders to make a revolution in spring football by hosting a joint scrimmage. While it was Coach Prime’s brainchild, Brown was the first to give a nod to his proposal. But at the end, it didn’t get a clearance from the NCAA, and Brown, 43, didn’t even hesitate to put the authorities on notice. And do you know from whom he drew the inspiration to be this transparent with his mind and mouth?

Fran Brown admires Deion Sanders for his no-nonsense  

Spring has been a huge mess this offseason. The idea of hosting the traditional spring game has come down to a very poor rate, with most of the coaches opting to skip it for fear of losing their roster. Matt Rhule has openly confessed that he couldn’t risk the players getting exposed to the poachers.

Brian Kelly and the other coaches followed suit. Their reason to quit might differ, but the decision remained the same. From that point, Deion Sanders wanted to come to the safe of the spring football with an NFL twist. He proposed to host a joint scrimmage and extended an open invitation to the team via Twitter. Brown agreed to his call, but the NCAA didn’t.

But Brown couldn’t just let it slide without expressing his angst. The following month, he threw shades, saying, “We should have just told Coach Belichick and Bill O’Brien to come up with it. You know well they weren’t about to allow Coach Prime and Fran Brown to be the first two guys to do it.” Then he sent a direct warning — “I’m just messing with you, NCAA. Don’t get all mad, call my AD and try to fine me. I’m literally joking.” That was a smart cover-up up but his frustration didn’t lie.

His relationship with the fellow HBCU coach has come a far ever since. During their interactions, what impressed Brown most was Deion’s ability to say the truth, stay true to his emotions regardless of everything. “One thing that I had to learn in my adulthood is being the best leader I can possibly be, is knowing that being that way if I truly feel that way about you, I’m gonna let you know,” he said during a conversation with NFF Hall of Famer LaVar Arrington. You know who’s the absolute best at doing that?” He asked and didn’t wait for an answer as it was obvious, “Prime.”