Deion Sanders Said No to College Football 27 Because the Money Wasn’t Right

Deion Sanders is not in EA Sports College Football 27, and he wants everyone to know exactly why.

At Big 12 football media days on Tuesday, the Colorado head coach made it crystal clear that his absence from the video game was a business decision, pure and simple.

“If I’m not in the game, that means they weren’t paying enough,” Sanders said. “It probably didn’t fit where we’re going right now.”

The game officially launches Thursday, and Sanders is one of the big names not included. That’s a talking point, obviously, because Coach Prime is never not a talking point. But he made it sound like it wasn’t personal. His team handles that stuff, he said, and the numbers just didn’t work.

Coach Prime’s seat is getting warmer

This kind of negotiation flex is easy when you’re winning. But Colorado is not winning right now, and that’s what makes this summer interesting.

The Buffs went 3-9 last season, a brutal fall after that 9-3 run in 2024 when Travis Hunter won the Heisman. Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are both in the NFL now, and Colorado cratered without them. Quarterback play was a disaster, the defense regressed, and the same old issues in the running game never went away.

So Sanders enters 2026 with sophomore QB Julian Lewis, who brings some hope. But the roster took another hit this offseason when star left tackle Jordan Seaton left via the transfer portal. Colorado brought in a bunch of new bodies through the portal again, so the talent level should be better. But that’s been the story every year under Sanders. The question is whether it translates to wins.

The roster churn continues

The portal giveth and the portal taketh away. Colorado lost Seaton, but they restocked around Lewis with more experienced players. The expectation inside the program is to get back to a bowl game at minimum. If they don’t, Sanders’ seat goes from warm to hot very quickly.

For now, though, Sanders is focused on his brand and his value. That includes video games. He doesn’t sound bitter about being left out of CFB27. He sounds like a guy who knows his worth and isn’t accepting discounts.

“I have a wonderful team that handles a lot of business for me,” he said. The message was clear: if EA wanted Prime, they should have paid Prime prices.