On Monday afternoon, Deion Sanders went public with his health struggles in the most Coach Prime way possible.
Flanked by two medical professionals—and products from two companies that he co-owns—Sanders discussed his years-long battle with bladder cancer, his faith and his road to recovery. The 41-minute press conference hit all the Deion high notes. There was humor, ego and moments of vulnerability rarely shown by football coaches. And throughout it all, unmistakable capitalism.
Sanders began the press conference wearing sunglasses made by Blenders, a small company based in San Diego that he put on the map during his first year in Boulder, Colo. The company, which has a commercial deal with Sanders, currently sells five different versions of Coach Prime-branded glasses.
To the left of his microphone was a can of Redcon1, a nutrition product that Sanders bought into last year. To the right of the microphone was a coffee mug with the logo of BLK & Bold, the coffee brand that also counts him as a co-owner. Redcon1 is also a partner of Colorado athletics, and BLK & Bold is currently in talks to join, according to a department spokesman.
Across social media, news coverage and TV clips, the two brands reaped $6.5 million in marketing exposure in the 18 hours after the press conference, according to Apex Marketing Group. That’s $4.3 million for BLK & Bold, and $2.2 million for Redcon1. Why the discrepancy? According to Apex Marketing, the can was harder to read, but also Sanders drank from the mug. When he did, nearly 20 minutes into the press conference, he put it back on the table, then rotated it 90 degrees to make sure the logo remained pointing outwards.
At one point during the press conference, while talking about his need to use the bathroom, Sanders made what initially appeared to be a joke about a diaper brand. “I depend on Depend,” he said. Turns out there’s a commercial relationship there, too. “I’m about to sexy them up,” Sanders said of Depend in a video posted after the press conference.
Sanders wouldn’t be the first notable sports figure to find commercial opportunity in his cancer fight. And some of this press conference branding may look familiar for college football fans. Nick Saban conducted all of his Alabama pressers with a Coke product on the podium, and Saban himself had a long-running commercial relationship with the soda maker. But Sanders has taken this intertwined web of business to entirely new heights.
Sportico wrote last year about ongoing talks between Sanders, Nike and Colorado to sell co-licensed apparel. That merchandise, which includes Sanders’ own logo and that of the athletic department, was already for sale under what the school called a “handshake agreement.”
Then in August, Colorado announced a sponsorship with Aflac, perhaps Sanders’ most public endorsement partner. The company’s six-year deal, a copy of which was obtained by Sportico, includes early termination language in the event Sanders leaves Colorado before 2028 or if Aflac ends its separate, existing endorsement agreement with the coach.
At most public universities we’d have a very good idea of the football coach’s outside business interests—the NCAA requires that institutions obtain annual disclosures from coaches and other athletic department officials for any “athletically related income or benefits” they receive in excess of $600. Those documents can be obtained via records requests.
But not at Colorado. Sanders’ original contract and his more recent five-year, $54 million extension both include language that says he doesn’t have to make those disclosures in writing. Instead, according to the contract, Sanders must only give a “verbal accounting” of this information annually to Colorado’s athletic director and president.
A handful of questions sent to Sanders via an athletic department spokesman weren’t immediately returned.
The praise for Sanders following the press conference was swift. An On3 reporter called it Sanders’ “most impactful move so far as Colorado’s coach.” An ESPN reporter said his words “will help save lives by urging others to get checked out.”
The event also looked good for University of Colorado Health, or UCHealth, where Sanders was treated. Sanders complimented his care, and left it to Janet Kukreja, the director of urological oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, to deliver the big news. “He is cured from the cancer,” she said at the start of the press conference, after which Sanders encouraged the journalists in attendance to clap.
Kukreja sees patients and performs surgeries at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. UCHealth, a partner of the School of Medicine, is also a long-time Buffaloes sponsor. In 2021, shortly before Sanders arrived on campus, the two expanded their partnership to give UCHealth the naming rights to the athletic department’s headquarters. UCHealth also made a $3 million gift contribution to the Buffaloes’ development fund, with a commitment to add another $600,000 each year for 15 years.
Sanders is featured on the UCHealth homepage, with a link to a landing page about his health journey and multiple promotional videos he’s made for the group. The UCHealth website also appeared to republish a 2023 story about Kukreja shortly before the press conference began.
A UCHealth representative told Sportico in an email that the group did not “currently” have a sponsorship agreement with Sanders, but that it had previously partnered with him to help motivate people to improve their health.
In the middle of his press conference, Sanders made a comment about a portable toilet on the Colorado sidelines this season. “If you see a porta potty on the sideline, it is real, I’m just telling you,” he said. “You’re going to see one at practice, on the sideline [in games].”
Don’t be surprised to see that bathroom sponsored, either.