Colorado
Colorado forecasts $27 million deficit after Deion Sanders pay raise, NIL payments
What does Deion Sanders’ raise mean for him and Colorado?
Deion Sanders’ $10M salary signals major investment from Colorado—but how will the school fund rising athletic costs?
The University of Colorado’s athletic department is projecting that it will run a $27 million deficit during the current fiscal year ending in June 2026, in addition to needing $11.9 million in institutional support from the university and $2.2 million from student fees, according to budget figures obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Those numbers are not final. The athletic department is hoping to bring that deficit down by the end of June with revenue from donations, sponsorships and concerts at Folsom Field. But it has never reported a deficit that big before, which could potentially leave the athletic department in need of more than $41 million in subsidies from the university, including the institutional support and student fees.
It also comes at a critical time:
- Athletic director Rick George announced recently he’s stepping down at the end of the fiscal year in June.
- Colorado nearly doubled the pay of football coach Deion Sanders in March, giving him a new five-year contract worth more than $10 million annually. His team just finished 3-9 in 2025 as attendance started to wane after selling out his first season in 2023.
- Like other major college sports programs, Colorado is committed to providing players with up to $20.5 million in annual benefits and direct payments under terms of the NCAA-House legal settlement. That cost is new this year, with the $20.5 million cap going up by 4% next year and the year after.
The latter two costs are the biggest reasons for the projected deficit — the $20.5 million for players and the $10 million per year for Sanders. Colorado previously told USA TODAY Sports in September it was “to be determined” how it would come up with the money to pay for those two big new costs.
Colorado says it won’t cut sports
The projected answer now is that it will run a deficit with the university as the potential backstop for funding. Asked who would be paying for these expenses if not the university, spokesman Steve Hurlbert said, “The mechanics of that are still to be determined.”
The school said it will “not cut sports nor cut any resources for student-athletes” but will look to cut expenses.
Hurlbert also stressed tuition money and state funds will not be used to address the deficit.
However, some observers who are familiar with Colorado’s budget expressed skepticism about that claim because money is fungible. The money the university provides to athletics also is discretionary.
“This notion that they’re spending resources that otherwise couldn’t be spent on putting more kids through college or funding cancer research is just absurd,” said Jack Kroll, a former member of the university’s Board of Regents. “There’s no truth to that whatsoever.”
‘The university will have to fill the gap’
The projected revenue for fiscal year 2026 is $136.7 million with $163.7 million in expenses. The biggest expense is football at $60.4 million. The department is still finalizing its numbers for fiscal year 2025, which ended in June 2025, but said it expects a “balanced” budget of $141 million in revenues and expenses for that year, including $24 million in institutional support revenue from the Boulder campus and the university’s president’s office.
Colorado isn’t the only school facing these challenges. In fiscal 2024, at least 33 athletic departments received at least $30 million in university support, including Colorado ($31.9 million), Houston ($38.4 million), Arizona State ($51.7 million) and South Florida ($63.7 million), according to public records collected by USA TODAY Sports in conjunction with the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database at Syracuse University.
The House settlement added a potential new $20.5 million expense to their bills starting July 1, 2025.
At Colorado, last year the university projected a small but growing budget deficit for the campus starting in fiscal 2027. It even told faculty and staff to move forward by “being comfortable with being uncomfortable.” This has led to concerns about how football is paying for its big new expenses.
“With a lame-duck athletic director, a dismal football season, who-knows-what to happen with the (transfer) portal, donor fatigue, the distancing of football leadership from football alums — the prospects for making much of a dent in that deficit seem very slim,” said Roger Pielke, an emeritus professor at Colorado who previously taught sports governance in the CU athletics department. “That would mean that the university will have to fill the gap.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This Cyber Monday, sales are expected to surpass $14.2 billion online, according to Adobe Analytics. As you’re searching for those holiday deals for your loved ones or maybe a little something for yourself, you might be wondering where to look and what to look out for.
There are major deals for you on electronics and clothes:
• Amazon is offering 40% off select toys, 50% off on clothing
• Target is offering $200 off some Apple products
• Retailers like Abercrombie and Fitch are giving you 50% off everything
Before you click buy, watch out for scammers who want to steal your personal information and your money. So far this year, Americans have reported more than $7 billion of fraud.
Here are five of the most common types of scams to watch for this holiday season, according to Visa:
• Fake retail websites: Websites that appear authentic but have been constructed for the sole purpose of scamming customers are proliferating, according to Visa. These sites can closely mimic popular companies, duping shoppers into handing over credit card information. Trust if your gut instinct says something is awry. Check the web address for typos, like numbers swapped out for letters, or vice versa.
• Package delivery scams: Scam artists are sending consumers texts claiming there is a “delivery problem” with an online order they probably didn’t place. Criminals posing as package delivery services like UPS or FedEx tell consumers they must turn over their credit card information to receive a phony delivery. Criminals may sell and trade your personal information on the dark web or enroll you in recurring billing cycles you never signed up for. Some consumers might not catch these issues if they don’t pay close attention to their credit card statements, according to Visa.
• Paying for seasonal work: Fake job offers also crop up during the holidays, when many Americans are trying to earn extra cash to cover gift-giving and travel. Scammers take advantage of that financial pressure.
• Travel-related fraud: Scammers are also creating fake travel sites and sending phishing emails targeting people with holiday travel plans. Make sure to make reservations through trusted travel sites, and if a deal appears to be too good to be true, it probably is.
• Charity scams: The year-end giving season also attracts scammers who exploit people’s generosity by setting up phony charities. Fraudsters may build convincing websites or approach people in person with tap-to-donate schemes, Visa said. As with other scams, it’s wise to confirm a charity’s legitimacy before donating.
If you do get hit, call your bank or credit card company right away. Time is critical. Also, file a police report. That can sometimes help you recover your funds.
The final full weekend of the college football regular season delivered everything the sport promises in late November—rivalry drama, playoff-shifting results, and, for some programs, a harsh reminder of how far they still have to climb.
For the Colorado Buffaloes, the script remained painfully familiar. A snowy road loss to Kansas State capped a frustrating 3–9 campaign in year 3 under Deion Sanders. In contrast, Ohio State strengthened its claim as the nation’s best team with a massive win in The Big House. Meanwhile, Texas A&M squandered a golden chance at the SEC Championship.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Week 14 of the college football season.
Another Game, Another Loss — But a Few Signs of Hope
For the fifth straight week, the Colorado Buffaloes land on the wrong side of the ledger. Their 24–14 loss at Kansas State was a microcosm of the entire season: flashes of potential drowned out by inconsistency and key absences.
Colorado’s defense opened the game with resilience, holding K-State in check after an early touchdown drive and keeping the Buffs within striking distance well into the fourth quarter. But missing multiple starters — including All-American left tackle Jordan Seaton, who missed the final three games with a foot injury — placed even more pressure on the offense, which struggled to sustain momentum.
Kansas State’s Joe Jackson ultimately took over, erupting for 188 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats punched their bowl ticket. Colorado, meanwhile, finishes the year 3–9, a sharp decline from the program’s 2024 breakthrough that featured a bowl appearance, a near Big 12 title berth, and Travis Hunter becoming the first two-way Heisman winner in a generation.
But there is a silver lining.
This season wasn’t about hardware — it was about experience. Colorado’s young core, headlined by freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, logged meaningful snaps against Big 12 competition. Those reps should make a big difference in how Lewis and the Buffs look next season. With “Coach Prime” expected to overhaul both the roster and coaching staff, the offseason becomes a crucial reset point — one that will shape whether Colorado’s growing foundation can finally translate potential into wins.
A Rivalry Win Sets the Stage for a Historic Matchup
When the pressure and the stakes are highest, the great teams rise to the occasion, and that’s exactly what the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes did, delivering a clean, dominant performance against their bitter rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.
The Buckeyes walked into Ann Arbor and delivered one of their most complete performances of the year, beating rival Michigan 27-9 to remain undefeated and stake their claim as the nation’s top team.
In a rivalry often defined by razor-thin margins, Ohio State weathered Michigan’s early momentum by controlling the trenches and smothering Michigan’s run game, forcing the Wolverines’ freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood into mistake-filled moments, including a late fourth-quarter interception that sealed the win for the Buckeyes.
The win preserved Ohio State’s perfect record and sets up a historic Big Ten Championship matchup against No. 2 Indiana — the first time the conference’s title game will feature undefeated teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2. The winner will not only claim the Big Ten crown but the No. 1 seed in the expanded College Football Playoff.
MORE: What Colorado Quarterback Julian Lewis Said After Impressing In First College Start
MORE: Three Big Takeaways From the Colorado Buffaloes’ Loss to West Virginia
MORE: What Deion Sanders Said After Colorado Buffaloes’ Loss to West Virginia
A Rivalry Collapse — But a Playoff Lifeline Remains
The stage was set for Texas A&M to make a national statement.
Beat Texas in Austin, and the Aggies were headed to the SEC Championship Game. Instead, Arch Manning and the Longhorns flipped the script on the maroon and white. Manning’s late touchdown run sealed a 27–17 win over the No. 3 Aggies, handing coach Mike Elko and A&M a painful loss to close the regular season.
The defeat ended the Aggies’ hopes of playing for an SEC title — something the program hasn’t done in over a decade — and denied them the satisfaction of beating their archrival on the biggest stage since the rivalry was renewed.
Still, the Aggies are expected to reach the College Football Playoff thanks to their strong overall record and big road wins over Notre Dame, and Missouri. A&M star linebacker Taurean York put things bluntly after the loss:
“Hurts a lot,” York said after the game. “But you got to regroup and get ready for the playoffs.”
The Aggies may have lost the battle in Austin — but the war that matters most is just ahead.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Colorado Springs Police are urged drivers to be careful on the roads as snow fell across Southern Colorado on Sunday night.
Just before 8:00 p.m., police posted on social media that all lanes of westbound Fillmore at I-25 were closed due to multiple crashes. They asked drivers to be careful and avoid the area.
All of westbound Fillmore is closed at I25 due to multiple crashes. Please use alternate routes and avoid the area. And please drive safe! Roads are extremely slick right now with multiple crashes throughout the city.
— CSPD Communications (@CSPDComCenter) December 1, 2025
Copyright 2025 KKTV. All rights reserved.
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