Reports: Colorado's Deion Sanders has unspecified illness

Field Level Media|published: Tue 10th June, 12:07 2025

Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is at his home in Texas dealing with an "unspecified health issue," ESPN reported Tuesday.

Sanders, 57, was away from campus as the school's annual summer football camps began last week, according to USA Today.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer's oldest son, Deion Sanders Jr., said his father was "feeling well" in a livestream on YouTube Sunday, but there is no timetable for his return.

"He'll tell y'all soon enough what he's going through, what he went through," Deion Jr. stated, according to USA Today. "When we get back to Boulder? I don't know. I'm waiting until my dad leaves. When he leaves, then I'll go. Until then, I'm going to sit here with him."

Colorado opens the season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.

The Buffaloes finished 9-4 (7-2 Big 12) in Sanders' second season in 2024 but lost two of their most high-profile players -- Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback (and coach's son) Shedeur Sanders -- to the 2025 NFL Draft.

Deion Sanders has dealt with health problems in the recent past. He had two toes amputated in 2022 due to blood clots and also missed the Pac-12 media day in 2023 because of blood clots in his legs.

Sanders had been scheduled to speak last weekend at a medical conference in Florida but had to cancel.

"Due to an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change, our originally scheduled Foundation Keynote Speaker, Deion Sanders 'Coach Prime,' is unable to attend. We are grateful for his support and look forward to future opportunities to welcome him," the Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research posted on X.

--Field Level Media

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