Colton Allen spent the last few years trying to stay in the quarterback room at Colorado. He played behind bigger names, waited for opportunities, and stayed with a program that saw coaches, quarterbacks, and expectations change in a short span. Now his football career has taken him somewhere very different.

Allen posted from Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 16, talking about a new business he has started exploring. Rather than continue to play football in the pros, he is getting into life insurance and virtual sales, and he is looking for other former athletes or people interested in remote sales to join him.

“Watching people build big businesses through life insurance is pretty eye-opening at the core of it,” Allen said in the video. Obviously, helping families protect their loved ones, but also a great business opportunity for yourself as well. I’m still pretty early in this myself as well, but if you’re an ex-athlete or looking to get into virtual sales, comment and DM, and I’ll get back to you.”

Allen arrived in Boulder as a local prospect from Valor Christian. The 6-foot-3 QB had spent time around the program before becoming part of Deion Sanders’ roster. He eventually found himself sharing a room with quarterbacks who attracted far more attention. In 2025, that included Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis. Before that, in 2023 and 2024, it was Shedeur Sanders.

Shedeur arrived in Boulder with Coach Prime already attached to him, and the starting position was essentially his from the beginning. He started every game for Colorado in 2023 and 2024 and became one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history.

For the 2025 campaign, Salter won the starting job to open the season after transferring from Liberty. Lewis, one of the young quarterbacks Colorado had high hopes for, started to look like part of the program’s long-term plans. Allen stayed around as the veteran option, but the chances kept getting harder to come by. His role shrank as the season went on.

Allen got one last snap in Colorado’s 2025 home finale against Arizona State. He completed his only pass for four yards. That was his only passing appearance of the season.

Dominiq Ponder was also part of that same group. He died at 23 in a single-car crash in Boulder County in March 2026. Allen later spoke about how Ponder could lift the mood around the team. He said Ponder made practices, workouts, and even simple conversations more enjoyable. His death came just weeks after Allen’s college career had ended.

“You had a presence about you that just made everything better,” Allen wrote on his IG after Ponder’s demise. “You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

By January 2026, Colorado had already moved on with its quarterback plans. CBS Sports reported that Allen and Salter had exhausted their eligibility, while Ryan Staub entered the transfer portal. Allen had no remaining college season to chase. So the next question was what came after football.

A vast majority of college players have to face a harsh reality after losing eligibility

From the outside, the college football world now looks more glamorous than ever. Many players now earn in the 7-8-figure range, which supports an extravagant lifestyle. But behind that surface perception, there’s also a massive cliff of challenging realities. According to the NCAA, less than 2% of college football players make it to the NFL. So, 98% of players always have to adjust to civilian life again.

“You’ve got the transfer portal. And the transfer portal and NIL at the same time are a disaster because that creates tampering. If a guy transfers one time, he’s got a 63% chance to graduate because a lot of his courses don’t transfer,” former UNC head coach Mack Brown said in conversation with Urban Meyer last year.

“If he transfers four or five times, he’s not going to graduate. Then he won’t have a home. Then he’s not going to have a home… He’s not going to get a job in that community when he gets out.”

According to leading psychologists, athletes can suffer from identity foreclosure and psychological distress. In college, because players’ identities are so wrapped up in the sport, losing it overnight feels jarring.

Moreover, contrary to the ‘amateur’ label the sport has, the rigors of playing college football almost mimic a full-time job. There’s very little bandwidth left to secure meaningful internships or build professional networks.