Deion Sanders has spent much of his time at Colorado telling people that his name carries weight. It sells tickets, brings television cameras to Boulder, and keeps the Buffaloes in conversations they rarely entered before his arrival.
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But on Tuesday, October 27, Sanders appeared less comfortable with someone else turning that attention into a book. Sanders was answering questions about a reported $50,000 offer to silence his critics when he brought up Brian Howell, a longtime Buffaloes beat reporter.
“I mean, well, Brian (Howell) wrote a book. I ain’t know about,” Deion Sanders said. “I don’t know about these kinds of things. I’m happy for them. I want them to prosper. But at least tell me about it.”
The Buffs head coach continued by questioning why Howell had not told him about using his name and image for the project. Sanders even turned toward another reporter, Jack, to explain why he found the situation strange.
“I would never write a book about you, Jack,” he said, before adding that he was hardly an inaccessible person. “I ain’t hard to find, baby. You know that.”
The book Sanders was referring to is Prime Time Legacy: Deion Sanders’s Rise to Coaching Major College Football. Published by Lyons Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, the 270-page title is scheduled for release on November 3.
The book is an examination of how Sanders took over a Colorado program that had gone 1-11 in 2022 and made it nationally relevant again.
It follows his success at Jackson State, his move to Boulder, and the remarkable 2024 season that ended with nine wins, a Big 12 title-game near miss, and a Heisman Trophy for Travis Hunter.
According to the publisher, Howell interviewed Sanders, Colorado players and university officials for the book. Whether Sanders knew what Howell planned to include in the final version, or had seen the cover, remains unclear.
Still, Howell’s interviews show that Sanders was part of the reporting process, even if he may not have known how the finished book would turn out.
Howell, though, isn’t someone who just posts opinions about Sanders online. He covers Colorado football for a living, which means reporting on Sanders is already part of his job.
And given the attention Sanders has brought to Boulder, there’s nothing particularly surprising about a beat reporter deciding to write a book about him. Nor does a reporter generally need a coach’s permission to write an independently published biography or account of his tenure.
Sanders may have wanted Howell to speak with him directly before the book came out, and he has reason to be upset if he felt that never happened. But that is a separate issue from whether Howell can write about a coach whose work is followed so closely by the public.
During their exchange, Howell also pushed back on Sanders’ account, saying off-mic, “I tried to get to you.” He appeared to be making the point that he had tried to reach Sanders.
In reality, the $50,000 controversy brought Howell into the conversation.
Christopher Neely, a longtime Sanders associate and online content creator known as Uncle Neely, had recently claimed that Sanders offered critics $50,000 not to mention his name for a year.
Neely suggested that some people had become so dependent on criticizing the Colorado coach that they would not accept the money. Sanders rejected the suggestion that he had made a genuine financial offer.
“That was a joke,” he told reporters. “I think you misinterpreted that.”
He explained that he had been making a point about people earning money from his name, rather than proposing an actual payment. Neely later explained that Sanders had made the comment during a May episode of Thee Pregame Show.
The Buffs head coach was speaking hypothetically at the time, rather than discussing an actual plan. There is a football problem underneath the argument, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for Sanders to avoid.
Colorado enters its October 31 matchup with Kansas State at 2-5 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 play. Colorado’s losing streak reached five games on October 24, when Oklahoma State beat the Buffaloes 57-24.
The expectations are also higher because of the investment Colorado has made in its coach. Sanders received a five-year, $54 million contract extension in 2025. His reputation, recruiting reach, and ability to attract attention were all part of the appeal.
But those advantages have not prevented the Buffaloes from sliding to the bottom of the conference standings. Former NFL receiver Cris Carter recently questioned Colorado’s defensive talent and Sanders’ inability to build a stronger roster after several years in charge.
His criticism followed the Oklahoma State loss, another game in which the Buffaloes surrendered more than 50 points.
So, coaching a team that keeps losing comes with questions, and Sanders draws more attention than most coaches because of his profile, his salary, and the way he has turned Colorado into a national story.