Colorado's Charlie Offerdahl, Alton McCaskill star in California Almonds ad with Deion Sanders

Since Deion Sanders returned to the college game, the head coach has brought a slew of business opportunities with him.

When he was at Jackson State, the program signed with Under Armour. Sanders had been a long-time ambassador of the brand and was close with founder and chairman Kevin Plank.

Now at Colorado, those business opportunities have been heightened. Working with SMAC Entertainment and Constance Schwartz-Morini, he’s continued appearing in Aflac commercials with Nick Saban. But he’s recently starred in ad campaigns for Oikos and KFC with his family, too. And he’s switched over to Nike.

With his latest endorsement deal, Sanders is making sure some of his players are reaping the benefits. Thanks to NIL, a pair of Colorado running backs are participating in the coach’s latest promotion with California Almonds.

In an ad released on Instagram, Colorado tailbacks Charlie Offerdahl and Alton McCaskill are racing for a bowl of almonds while Sanders holds them off with resistance bands.

“Ain’t no secret to staying in your prime, you just got to want it, baby,” Sanders says. “Eating almonds can help you recover from exercise, so eat your almonds. Own your prime.”

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Deion Sanders finding success early at Colorado

All eyes have been on Colorado through three weeks of the college football season, as Sanders and the Buffs have yet to disappoint. 

The TV ratings back up the attention Sanders has received. One week after attracting 7.26 million viewers for its season-opening victory over No. 17 TCU, Colorado saw 8.73 million tune in for its home-opening win over rival Nebraska. This past weekend marked the highest TV rating yet, as Colorado-Colorado State averaged 9.3 million viewers, which broke the previous ESPN late prime window viewership high.

The game, which kicked off at 10 p.m. ET, was also the most-streamed regular season game of all time on ESPN. Even more impressive, according to SBJ’s John Ourand, at 2:15 a.m. ET, the game still registered 8.230 million viewers – an audience that was more than 1 million viewers bigger than the peak audience of any other college football game this week.

The spotlight on the 19th-ranked Buffaloes continues this weekend. Now off to a 3-0 start, they’ll face their toughest challenge yet as Colorado visits No. 10 Oregon in Eugene. It could be another ratings bonanza, with Shedeur Sanders and Bo Nix facing off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Deion Sanders had another successful week from a business perspective, too. According to Chase Fisher, Blenders Eyewear CEO, between 65,000 to 70,000 of the “Prime 21” sunglasses were pre-ordered. That number is only rising. The shades sell for $67, the year Sanders was born (1967). He personally asked for them to be priced at that number, which was originally $69. Quick math says the company has made more than $4.5 million off the sunglasses from pre-orders. 

Charlie Offerdahl, Alton McCaskill score big with NIL deal

The California Almonds ad is fun and one of the first NIL deals we’ve ever seen where athletes are promoting a brand right next to their head coach. The players aren’t promoting a random brand either, the commercial is for the Almond Board of California, which supports all 7,600 almond growers in the state.

While Sanders has involved his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, in previous marketing agreements, it’s a clear sign of the NIL activations that come from being around the Colorado coach’s program.

Offerdahl is one of the few remaining players from last year’s Colorado team. He found success in 2022, rushing for 150 yards which is the most ever by a walk-on at CU. The preferred walk-on didn’t run for the portal when Sanders arrived on campus, instead embracing the “I’ve got my luggage with me and it’s Louis.” This year he’s carried the ball twice for 11 yards but has played in all three games.

A former four-star prospect, McCaskill transferred to Boulder after two years at Houston. In his freshman year in 2021, the running back rushed for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns, earning American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors.

One of the biggest offseason pickups for the Buffaloes, McCaskill was expected to be the primary ball carrier for Colorado but has eased his way back after missing the entire 2022 season due to a torn ACL. He’ll make his return this weekend at Oregon.