"It's a shame": When Deion Sanders voiced his disapproval at the state of High School coaches in Florida 

By Aman Sharma

Modified Oct 27, 2024 15:22 GMT

Deion Sanders, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado Buffaloes coach, once voiced deep concerns about the treatment of high school football coaches in Florida. This is despite it being a state with a rich history of developing top-level athletes.

Last year in August, Sanders, an alumnus of Florida State University, expressed his frustrations on social media platform X. He highlighted how low the compensation is for these coaches who shape the futures of young athletes.

"The State of Florida should have the Highest Paid High school football coaches in the country because of the development of the number [of] players they feed Colleges throughout the country," Sanders posted. "It's a shame but God bless these coaches because they love the kids regardless."

As of October 2024, high school football coaches in Florida earn an average annual salary of $35,790, per Zip recruiter, which is among the lowest in the nation. However, many coaches reportedly make a mere $3,400 per year, which averages out to about $13 a day.

Another coach, Campbell, shared his perspective with BuffsBeat, saying:

"It's not fair in the slightest. We're the ones helping to send these kids off to a better situation with nothing really to work with. It needs to change, and that starts with Governor DeSantis. We've consistently turned out top athletes, some of the best in the country, and still make about 13 dollars per day. How is that possible? We should be doing better."

Campbell emphasized the impact these coaches have on players who go on to top college teams.

"We're literally responsible for making sure these kids are successful and can barely do anything for ourselves. We as coaches bring in big time money and funding to schools with nothing to show for it."

He noted that some coaches are moving to states like Georgia, where they can earn significantly more.

"Alabama's entire secondary last year was from Florida," Campbell noted. "It matters and needs to be taken seriously. I know great coaches who are leaving for Georgia because they can be paid 10 times as much."

Colorado secures bowl eligibility in Year 2 with Deion Sanders at the helm

The Colorado Buffaloes, led by coach Deion Sanders, clinched bowl eligibility with their sixth victory of the season – a 34-23 win over Cincinnati at home, positioning them as strong Big 12 contenders.

The win was driven by quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who set a school record by completing his first 15 passes, amassing 323 yards, and contributing three touchdowns. This victory guarantees that his sophomore season will end with Colorado's first bowl game appearance since 2020.

While celebrating the achievement, Deion Sanders tempered the excitement.

"It's cute. It really is. Because we really want that, but that's not all we're after," Deion Sanders told ESPN. That's one of the hurdles that we're jumping over and going over."

"That's a tremendous hurdle that we're happy, we're excited, but that's not the end goal for us. That's the beginning, but we are thankful and appreciative that the hard work is going noticed."

Shedeur Sanders revealed that he had practiced only once during the week due to a flu but still managed to complete 25 of 30 passes, connecting with Travis Hunter nine times for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buffaloes also saw success in their ground game, with Arkansas transfer Isaiah Augustave leading with 91 of the team’s 123 rushing yards.