On Tuesday, October 27, Deion Sanders was taking questions at his weekly news conference in Boulder, Colorado, with the Buffaloes preparing to host Kansas State after five straight losses. Then a reporter brought up something Sanders had said months earlier. “Offered money?” the coach asked, caught off guard by the reference. Christopher Neely, who was in the room, stepped in to remind him of the conversation.

Neely, known as Uncle Neely, has been documenting Sanders’ career since his days coaching at Jackson State. A longtime videographer and a familiar presence around Coach Prime, he had turned the access into a platform of his own: The Pregame Network.

During a livestream on his channel, Neely claimed that Sanders had offered critics $50,000 to stop mentioning him for a year. He argued that some commentators had built audiences and made money by talking about Coach Prime, adding, “And ain’t nobody took the deal yet.” Sanders rejected that interpretation at Tuesday’s news conference. 

“I think you misinterpreted that,” Sanders said. “I said . . . I would love to give you money and not mention my name, and I want to see how far that goes. That was a joke. That’s what we were saying. Like some people live on your name.”
He then posted further clarification on his X account:

“This is a lie, but God bless you all. Y’all know me and have known me for years. When has it appeared that I’ve EVER cared what a man or woman has said about me? My son does my videos, and Neely is a friend.”

The distinction became clearer later that day when Neely addressed the controversy on TMR Live, the daily livestream he co-hosts with BiggDogg Chico. He played footage of Sanders making the original remark in May, smiling as he floated the idea of paying people not to mention him. Neely said the exchange was meant to illustrate how much some commentators depended on Sanders for content, not to announce an actual offer to journalists.

“This was clearly a tongue-in-cheek, joking example to prove a point,” Neely said, explaining that even if Sanders offered critics what they earned from discussing him, they might still refuse to stop. He also pushed back on the suggestion that Sanders’ feelings had been hurt by the criticism.

Neely’s own business is built around documenting Sanders. His YouTube channel, Thee Pregame Network, began as a show about Jackson State football before expanding into behind-the-scenes coverage of Sanders and his program.

In a 2023 profile, The Athletic reported that Neely’s income came from monetizing his channel through advertising and sponsorships, rather than being paid directly by Sanders. That background adds context to his argument about the financial incentives surrounding coverage of Coach Prime, though it does not establish that critics were offered money or that their motives were the same.

Sanders’ point, he said, was that some people prosper from his name and brand while speaking negatively about him. “That was really a joke about someone who is prospering off of your name and your brand but they don’t like you,” he said. There is no evidence in the available reporting that Sanders made a serious offer to any journalist.

The controversy comes as Colorado tries to halt a five-game losing streak. The Buffaloes fell 57–24 to Oklahoma State on October 24 after leading 24–23 at halftime. Oklahoma State outscored them 34–0 in the second half, leaving Colorado at 2–5 overall and 0–4 in Big 12 play ahead of its home game against Kansas State on October 31.

After a 9-4 campaign in 2024, the Buffaloes fell to 3-9 last season, and another difficult year has intensified questions about the direction of the program. Sanders’ record at Colorado now stands at 18–26 since he took over in 2023. The 2024 season remains his only winning campaign at the school, despite the national attention that followed his arrival and the success of a roster featuring his son, Shedeur Sanders, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Both have since moved to the NFL, with Shedeur joining the Cleveland Browns and Hunter the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sanders’ relationship with the media has also drawn scrutiny before. In August 2024, Colorado barred Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking questions of Sanders or other football-program personnel at football-related events. The university cited what it described as sustained personal attacks on the program and Sanders.

Keeler retained his media credentials and could attend events, while other Denver Post reporters remained free to ask questions. The restriction followed a tense news conference in which Sanders accused Keeler of being persistently hostile toward him.

The earlier dispute involved a documented restriction on a reporter’s access; the current controversy rests on a remark that both Sanders and Neely have described as a joke.

With Colorado struggling on the field, the latest exchange has added another chapter to the scrutiny surrounding Sanders, but the available evidence does not support presenting the $50,000 as a genuine offer to silence critics.