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Earlier this week, Colorado announced it was planning to retire the number of two players who played a key role in turning the program around: Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. That second choice was greeted by its fair share of criticism, and Deion Sanders accidentally summed up why there’s been so much backlash to the decision while attempting to justify it.
It’s hard not to be impressed by what Deion Sanders has achieved in his first two seasons at Colorado. The program basically had nowhere to go but up when he arrived in Boulder, and he immediately made the Buffaloes relevant for the first time since the previous century while staging a drastic turnaround.
Colorado did ultimately finish at 4-8 during an inaugural campaign that got off to a promising start before things fell apart, but it was hard to deny there was something to Coach Prime’s method after they went 9-4 last season and finished at #25 in the AP poll.
We’ll have to wait and see how the Buffs fare next season in the wake of the departure of a number of key players. That includes two-way phenom Travis Hunter and starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who will both hear their names called in the upcoming NFL Draft.
On Monday, the program announced both of those players will have their numbers retired at Colorado’s spring game this weekend to honor their contributions.
The decision to immortalize Hunter was a no-brainer based on what he achieved en route to winning the Heisman Trophy (the first Colorado player to earn the honor since Rashaan Salaam in 1994), although throwing Sanders into the mix was a choice that left many people scratching their heads while making it even harder for his dad to dodge the nepotism allegations.
There’s a case to be made for Shedeur when you consider he broke more than 100 school records while playing at Colorado for just two seasons, but at the same time, he was only there for two years, ultimately finished with a 13-11 record as a starter, and wasn’t able to add a bowl win to his résumé before departing.
Given the influence Deion wields, it’s fair to understand why plenty of people think Shedeur was only lumped in with Hunter because his last name is Sanders—an argument his dad inadvertently acknowledged while trying to make the opposite point and justifying the decision to honor him while speaking with the media on Thursday.
Coach Prime addresses Shedeur Sanders & Travis Hunter jersey retirement controversy #skobuffs pic.twitter.com/l2tYGFG2cG
— NoSkoZone (@noskozone) April 17, 2025
Here’s what he had to say:
“Let’s get the elephant out of the room…If his last name wasn’t Sanders, we wouldn’t have this conversation. The only reason we’re having this discussion is because his last name is Sanders. That’s it.
There’s been so many things accomplished at the university, expeditiously, it’s been unbelievable. I think we should be appreciative. We should be grateful…There’s a whole lot of things that are brighter and are better because someone stands on business and makes it that way.”
At the end of the day, there’s no real reason to get too bent out of shape over Colorado’s decision to retire Sanders’ number, but it’s certainly not a stretch to suggest he wouldn’t have gotten the honor if that wasn’t his last name.