Colorado nets $200K profit from Deion Sanders' first spring game

The Coach Prime effect continues to pay dividends for Colorado.

The Buffaloes sold tickets, priced at $10 each, to their April spring game for the first time since the 1980s. Deion Sanders‘ first appearance sold out weeks before, with just under 45,000 packing into Folsom Field for the spring game.

Athletic director Rick George‘s decision to sell tickets has paid off. In an interview with BuffZone.Com, he shared the Buffaloes generated about $343,000 in ticket sales and roughly $143,000 in concessions.

With expenses paid out, the athletic department walked away with a net $200,000 profit from the game. Another $123,000 in revenue was generated from the team store, which George called the largest gameday merchandise profit the program has ever seen.

“It was positive revenue for us and it was really good exposure for us to be on national TV,” George told BuffZone.com. “It was a good day for Colorado athletics.”

Those numbers do not even include the exposure Colorado received from playing on ESPN. Largely because of Sanders move to Colorado, the Buffaloes were the only school in the country to play its spring game on the mothership. The game drew in drew 551,000 viewers; Lincoln Riley and USC produced 287,000 viewers in 2022.

If Sanders puts a winning product on the field this season does not seem to be deterring fans from buying tickets. Season tickets sold out in April. Colorado’s home opener, slated for Sept. 9 against Nebraska, has produced plenty of ticket buzz, too. The lowest price for a ticket is currently listed $404 on Ticketmaster. Trying to get closer to the field, the most inexpensive pair of tickets listed together are going for $585 in row 44.

A single game to watch defending national champion Georgia‘s home opener against Tennessee Martin is priced at $75 on Ticketmaster.

The last time Colorado sold out a home football game was 2019, when Arizona knocked off the Buffaloes 35-30. Coach Prime’s first game with the Buffaloes is also being played in a marquee slot. Colorado travels to TCU for a Big Noon Kickoff matchup on Fox in Week 1.

What Sanders’ roster looks like come August remains to be seen. Coach Prime always intended to clean house at Colorado. When he took the job back in December, he spoke about his luggage – and it was going to be Louis. He also openly asked players to enter the transfer portal in his first speech to the team. 

The program has seen 57 players hit the portal since December. A recent NCAA rule change also allows for first-year head coaches to cut players as long as they honor scholarship commitments.

“We know what we want, and I don’t concede,” Sanders said in April. “I don’t settle. I know what I want and I know what I’m gonna get. We don’t settle.”