Colorado Ticket Sales Dove Despite Deion’s Improved Second Season

The University of Colorado reported $24 million of football ticket revenue for 2024-25, according to its latest NCAA financial disclosures—a 23% year-over-year decline in the second season of head coach Deion Sanders, despite improved on-field results from his debut year in Boulder.

The Buffaloes finished 9-4, capped by a loss in the Alamo Bowl, and averaged 52,514 fans across six home games.

More from Sportico.com

By comparison, Colorado reported $31.2 million in football ticket sales for 2023-24, a season in which CU went 4-8 and finished last in the Pac-12. That campaign set a program attendance record, averaging 53,180 fans per home game, up 24% from the prior year.

Football operating expenses rose from $38.5 million in FY24 to $42.8 million in FY25, while total football operating revenues increased from $65.7 million to $69.3 million. CU paid $14.4 million to its football coaches last fiscal cycle, up from $12.5 million.

After losing key players to the NFL—including quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter—CU slid to a 3-8 record this past season, with home game average attendance slipping slightly to 50,469.

Overall, Colorado reported total athletics operating revenues of $161.7 million in FY25, up from $146.6 million the year before, although some of that increase owes to the way the NCAA Member Financial Reporting System counts certain line items, such as contributions. Expenses, meanwhile, jumped as well, from $138.3 million to $161.5 million.

Earlier this month, Colorado introduced its new athletic director, Fernando Lovo, who replaced longtime AD Rick George.

Last March, the university extended Sanders’ contract through 2029, increasing his annual base salary to a Big 12-leading $10 million per year. In recent years, Sanders has faced several career-threatening health issues, including a bladder cancer diagnosis he revealed in a press conference last July.

Colorado is set open next season’s non-conference football schedule on the road in Atlanta, to play the back end of a home-and-home series with Georgia Tech, before hosting Weber State and Northwestern in Boulder.

Best of Sportico.com

Source link