Deion Sanders' Health Issue: Absent From Colorado Buffaloes Team, Return Unknown

On Sunday, Deion Sanders Jr. stated on a YouTube livestream from the family estate that his father was “feeling well" in his room, but when they would come back to Boulder was uncertain.

“He’ll tell y’all soon enough what he's going through, what he went through,” Sanders Jr. added.

“When we get back in Boulder, I don’t know,” Sanders Jr. said. “I’m waiting until my dad leaves. When he leaves, then I’ll go. Until then, I’m gonna sit here with him.”

Additionally, Sanders cancelled a speaking event scheduled for last Sunday due to an "unavoidable last-minute scheduling change," according to The Foundation for Sickle Cell Research. The venue had advertised Sanders as its keynote speaker.

Sanders is no stranger to health issues this decade. Most notably, the coach and NFL Hall of Famer had two toes amputated in 2021. He also missed several football-related events in 2023 due to blood clots in his leg.

Sanders stated on a recent podcast with Asante Samuel Jr. in May that he had lost 14 pounds this past offseason.

"What I’m dealing with right now is at whole 'nother level," Sanders said.

Samuel offered his well wishes for Sanders during the podcast, which was put on to clear the air over a recent social media spat between the two former NFL cornerbacks.

“I hope you’re feeling better,” Samuel said.

Colorado media personality and close confidant of Sanders “Uncle Neely” told the DNVR podcast that Coach Prime holding strong.

“He’s doing good,” Neely said Friday. “One of the things we ended the spring saying was this was the most energetic and enthusiastic Coach Prime I’ve seen since I’ve been with him … As he told Asante, he’s been having a little setback, but nothing he can’t overcome.”

Neely added that Sanders was still “engaged” in coaching duties while tending to his health issue.

Colorado is set to host a youth football camp this week and a women’s football clinic on Thursday, events that Sanders has attended in the past.

It is fuzzy when the coach will return to the sidelines, but with all signs pointing to this issue not threatening his life or career, no true concern for Sanders’s status with the Buffaloes could arise until August.

Colorado takes on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to begin the 2025 season on Aug. 29.