Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders announced Monday he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had surgery to remove his bladder. His doctors announced the procedure resulted in Sanders being “cured.”
“We’re going to beat it, aren’t we?” Sanders asked Dr. Janet Kukreja on stage at a news conference in Boulder.
“It’s beaten,” she answered.
Sanders, 57, said he expects to coach the Buffaloes next season. He joked that going forward he may need to have a “porta-potty on the sideline.”
Sanders played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens. A star defensive back, he earned six All-Pro honors and nine Pro Bowl teams while leading the 49ers and Cowboys to Super Bowl victories in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
He was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sanders was named head coach of Jackson State in Mississippi in 2020 and helped turn around the FCS program. After a 4-3 first season (that was shortened due to COVID), he led the Tigers to an 11-2 record in 2021 with a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. They repeated as titleholders the next year with a 12-1 record.
Colorado hired Sanders in 2023 to lead the Buffaloes. Despite a 4-8 initial year, the Buffaloes went 9-4 in 2024 with an Alamo Bowl appearance. Sanders’ son, Shadeur Sanders, threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions en route to being named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders was not with Colorado in June due to an unspecified health issue, he said on social media.
“Wow, I am truly blessed for the abundance of well wishes, for all the thoughts and all of the prayers,” Sanders wrote. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! 🙏🏾 I can assure you all that everything is OKAY and will continue to be so. God got me like no other. I have so much more work to do to Glorify God so please believe God got me! I’m excited to get back to Colorado to be at home with my staff, team & all associated to our program. When we arrive back to Boulder you will be updated on everything. Until then, I’M COMING BABY, #CoachPrime.”
In a video released by Sanders’ son, Deion Sanders Jr., on Sunday, Sanders said he had made a will.
“Mentally, emotionally, last night was tough, yesterday was tough, because I had to make a will,” he said in a video. “That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here.”
Sanders signed a five-year, $54 million contract extension in March that runs through the 2029 season.