Most of the fuss surrounding Deion Sanders and his decision to leave Jackson State University to take up the head coaching job at the University of Colorado has come to a standstill.
With several interviews explaining his move and the calm surrounding the debates consuming social media, it seemed like everything surrounding this coaching change had settled down. However, there was one decision-maker who still wasn’t too sure Coach Prime’s new move.
Previously AfroTech reported that while Sanders had accepted the head coaching role, the University of Colorado athletic director had confirmed that the funds for his work were not yet in place.
Breaking down, Sanders was to receive the following:
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$5.5 million in its first season
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$500,000 base salary
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$1.75 million in additional revenue for radio, television and public appearances
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$1.74 million for promotion and fundraising
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$1.5 million for “student-athlete development”
Funds for Sanders’ salary are believed to be in place as he has begun preliminary action with the team, and his role has been formally discussed by the school’s governing body.
According to United States today, All but one of the University of Colorado’s boards of trustees voted to approve Coach Prime’s position.
Jack Kroll was the only member who decided to vote “no”, noting that his opposition had little to do with Sanders as an individual. Yet it was more of his fiduciary responsibility to look out for the best interests of the school.
Kroll listed his specific reasons for opposition with USA Today.
“The business model is not sustainable.”
Kroll noted that Sanders’ salary is more than the university has ever paid a football coach. However, the University of Colorado (UC) uses a student athletics fee of $28.50 per student each semester to subsidize its athletics department. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the university collected $11.2 million in tuition revenue.
However, UC coaches aren’t compensated “by tuition money, taxpayer dollars, or the general campus fund, but by athletic department revenue, media rights, and donations.” “.
“Players may soon be classed as employees under the law.”
While Kroll doesn’t really have any objection to such a student-athlete category, he doesn’t fully understand how CU could pay for a labor expense if the move becomes official.
Concerned about football-related head injuries and their long-term effects on players.
Kroll noted that the university has a complicated and long history of player injuries and deaths related to head injuries. And while CU sees itself as a leader in the prevention and treatment of brain injuries, Kroll thinks the school could use its resources in more sustainable projects like residence halls and research labs.
“But I think as a trustee of the university, I need to see the bigger picture, and yes, I’m getting some angry backfires and voicemails. I don’t check Twitter. It’s okay. They’re entitled to their thoughts and their passions on these things. In the short term, it’s a really exciting time for the university to bring in a guy like him. Deion Sanders, and people are happy about it. Anyone who stands this way will hear about it,” Kroll told USA Today.
In addition to the above reasons, Kroll’s “personal regret” also played a role in his vote.
In 2017, he voted in favor of a contract extension for former CU head coach Mike MacIntyre, who was eventually fired a year later for poor performance on the pitch.
CU fired MacIntyre in November 2018 after his team’s performance on the field plummeted with six straight losses. CU ended up paying $7.2 million to buy out his contract,” USA Today reports.
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