Audit Finds Colorado Overpaid Deion Sanders $50k and Staff $71k After 2024 Alamo Bowl but Identifies No Intentional Misconduct

An internal audit dated June 4, 2026, found the University of Colorado overpaid head football coach Deion Sanders a $50,000 bonus after the 2024 Alamo Bowl and overpaid assistant coaches and staff by an additional $71,333 for the same game. The university lost $1,238,148 on the bowl appearance, the report stated.

The audit attributed the overpayment to the misclassification of the Alamo Bowl as a New Year’s Six game.

Sanders’ contract called for a $150,000 bonus for a non-New Year’s Six bowl and $200,000 for a New Year’s Six bowl. The Alamo Bowl in San Antonio is not part of the New Year’s Six, which includes the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton and Peach bowls. Colorado finished the 2024 season 9-4 and lost to BYU 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl.

The university received $1,996,583 in conference distribution revenue, generated $768,050 from ticket sales and $207,475 from a Buffs Bash event, for total revenues of $2,972,108. Total recorded expenses reached $4,210,256, including $1,796,008 in athletics-related costs, $802,034 in required ticket purchases and $945,053 for band and spirit program travel.

The report noted that the university proceeded without an event budget, which limited financial oversight and contributed to expenses exceeding revenues.

It did not identify intentional misconduct but called for significant improvements in postseason compensation procedures. This was the second consecutive year Colorado paid Sanders beyond his contract terms. In late 2023 the university gave him a discretionary $250,000 bonus for national recognition after finishing 4-8.

Sanders received a new contract in 2025 that nearly doubled his annual pay to more than $10 million. He finished the 2025 season 3-9. The audit said assistant coaches and support staff should have received one week of base pay as a bonus but were overpaid due to discretionary adjustments.