Once upon a time, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spent big to bring Deion Sanders to Dallas. Would Jones try to take on the hottest coach in all of sports?
That specific question wasn’t asked of Jones during a discussion with reporters Sunday after the game. But it’s clear that Jerry believes in Deion.
“Let me tell you something,” Jones said of Deion. “He is a great coach. He’s a great coach.”
Can Jerry imagine Deion coaching in the NFL?
“He influences people and that’s a given in the NFL,” Jerry said. “But I don’t want to go there because you know where it starts in all directions. But [Deion] With his stature, his substance, what he is and his own personality, he can influence and ensure that he is able to respond to you individually and work with you. I’m a product of that with him.”
Deion not only influences players but also delivers. Saturday night’s late-starting (and very late-ending) Colorado State-Colorado game gave ESPN its fifth-best college football ratings ever, averaging 9.3 million viewers. In an age of widespread cord cutting, this is astonishing. Colorado also completely sold out all home games for the first time ever, via TheAthletic.com.
The impact goes beyond football games. Via Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, 60 Minutes’ season premiere, featuring Deion, drew the show’s largest audience since January 2021 with 11.8 million viewers.
Yes, it helps that the show had a huge entry-level audience of Jets-Cowboys (25.8 million). Still, many stuck around, probably for more Deion.
The sports world can’t get enough of Deion. And that might be enough to persuade some owners to try to put together a financial offer that makes Deion, who told Rich Eisen last week he doesn’t think he can motivate rich NFL players, at least willing to try.