Another day, another embarrassment in Colorado for Deion Sanders

How many times can a coach and football program hit rock bottom in one season? Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes seem to be trying to answer that question in 2026.

In the middle of a five-game losing streak and with the Buffs at the bottom of the Big 12 standings at 0-4 in conference play, Sanders once again had to address an off-the-field issue during his weekly news conference on Tuesday in Boulder.

Already under heat this season for his team's play as well as a Colorado playbook being found by opposing fans at a local hotel before the Texas Tech Red Raiders came into Boulder and won earlier in the month, Sanders had to defend a statement about how far he would reportedly go to keep the negative press from continuing.

A report surfaced on Tuesday that an individual known as "Uncle Neely," who is close to Sanders and the CU football team, said that Sanders had offered $50,000 to some of his critics to keep from bad-mouthing him and the program.

"For the most part, the people that attack him wouldn't be making the money they were making if he wasn't here to attack," Neely said on Monday. "Which is why he told some of them, 'Hey man, let's just do this. I give you $50,000 to not mention my name for a year.' And ain't nobody took the deal yet… And you love talking about this man so much, and you make so much talking of this man that you turned the deal down."

Sanders was asked about the quote during his news conference and responded by saying the concept was "a joke." He also responded to the report through his own social media accounts.