A declaration made by Sports Illustrated on Thursday birthed a whole new fracas. Deion Sanders as the ‘Sports Person of the Year: 2023’ did not sit well with a good chunk of the population, creating another debate: Is he worth the award? Usually, the said sportsperson is judged on his recent performance, which has not been Coach Prime’s best forte. Hence, the question from the people who picked the other side of the debate was, on what basis did SI make the decision?

Several incredible personalities have left a massive impact on the sports world this year. Patrick Mahomes, for instance, won an MVP and a Super Bowl, all without his best wide receiver. Or Nicola Jokić, the NBA finals MVP and NBA Champion. From a plethora of choices, SI put their bet on Deion Sanders. Former wide receiver Chad Johnson has the best arguments to defend SI’s case.

‘Deion Sanders deserves the win’: Ocho Cinco

Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson yesterday was rife with praise for Coach Prime. “He deserves to be on the on the cover on the SI cover,” declared Johnson. “What he was able to do in that program in such a short amount of time.” Johnson makes a fair point, from a record of 1 -11 in the previous season to 4-8 this season, the Buffs have leaped forward. Even though they did not crack their last 6 games, they still made progress with polishing the skills of their players.

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Johnson also pointed out how off-season recruits and transfers are going to bring better dynamism to the team. “It will only continue to get better,” asserted Cinco. “He doesn’t have the roster to compete with the UCLA or the USC’s or the Oregons or the Utah, you know teams of that magnitude. But once he gets him, you’re going to continue to see that record improve year in and year out.”

The changes Cinco is hinting towards are already rolling for the Buffs. Sean Lewis, who Coach Prime demoted from the position of OC, left the team. Moreover, since Sanders joined, more than half a dozen players have already opted for the transfer portal.

Read More: “Not Really Making Any Sense”: Colorado RB’s “Selfish” Claim Brushed Aside as Deion Sanders’ Pre-Season Demands Grab Limelight

On the bright side, the ‘brand’ Sanders created out of the Buffs made good money, almost $90 million in September, and good revenues from tickets as well, which were priced averagely the highest in the whole college football, as per Fox Sports. Even Shannon Sharpe, Cinco’s co-host of Nightcap, agreed with it, and Sharpe is tough to convince. With the arguments Cinco made, the argument seems more in the court of Sanders deserving it.

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