Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders opened up about his cancer diagnosis on Monday. At a press conference with the Colorado medical team, Coach Prime revealed that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this offseason and underwent bladder removal surgery because of a cancerous tumor on it.
While Sanders said the surgery was a success, the news still hit the football world hard. This was even more true after a video was posted by “Well Off Media” on Monday. In the video, Coach Prime admitted he needed to make a will before he went into surgery and spoke about how difficult that was.
Former Heisman winner Cam Newton took the clip and showed it on the “4th&1 With Cam Newton” podcast on Thursday. Newton then reacted, admitting that those comments hit him hard, comparing them to something his grandmother used to say.
“In this moment, in the famous words of my late grandmother, she would always say this to me, her children, and her grandkids, ‘you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone,'” Cam Newton said (Timestamp 4:50). “She would joke about it but behind every single joke, there’s some truth. We would always tell her, ‘Grandma, don’t say that. You’re not gonna die no time soon.’ The wisdom in me tells me that, give people they flowers while they can still smell them.
“With that being said, there would not be no Cam Newton, the bravado, the aura, the flash, without Deion Sanders. What he means to the black culture, to football as a whole. No matter what the color is, it embodies what 90%, if not 100% of athletes embody to this day. That’s the edge, self-confidence. Show time, or in this case Prime Time. I hope I am to my sons what you are to your sons. I appreciate you.”
Deion Sanders Returns to Colorado and Inspires His Players
Deion Sanders was absent from team activities for parts of this offseason. At the time, fans knew it was a health issue, but it was unspecified. Now that it has been revealed to have been cancer, he is viewed as an inspiration by many in the football community. Players on the Buffaloes spoke about this on Wednesday. Safety Carter Stoutmire spoke about his impact on the team.
“Whatever hardship trials he goes through, he always makes it through,” Stoutmire said. “Seeing him back, just a breath of fresh air for the whole team.”
Deion Sanders has fully returned to his coaching duties and is preparing for the start of the 2025 season in less than a month.
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