The Dallas Cowboys appear to have serious interest in Deion Sanders as a head coach candidate, but they might be facing one unexpected obstacle in their pursuit of the Hall of Famer — money.
Sanders’ current buyout is $8 million, according to his official contract with the University of Colorado. The figure began at $15 million, dropped to $10 million last year, and is now $8 million as of Jan. 1, 2025.
Should Dallas have an opportunity to hire Sanders, surely the $8 million buyout would be irrelevant to Jerry Jones and family, right? Not necessarily, says ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While discussing the Cowboys’ head coach search during a Friday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Schefter indicated that Jones would be hesitant to pay Sanders’ buyout.
“If Jerry Jones wants to take a big swing and go for Deion, go pay the buyout, which again I don’t think he’d be thrilled about doing,” Schefter said. “There are ways to navigate that. Maybe he has Netflix partner up with him to help take on some of the cost, not that Jerry can’t afford it or anything. But, I don’t think that $10 million buyout is completely insignificant in this particular occasion.”
"Kellen Moore is somebody that knows the Cowboys organization and everything tells you that he's in play for this job..
Jerry Jones could take a big swing and go get Deion Sanders..
The Cowboys are in no rush to make a decision"@AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/1l0IG65bih
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 17, 2025
Schefter said Sanders’ buyout is $10 million, but it is actually $8 million. Either way, the reporter made it seem like the buyout could be a factor.
Sanders seems genuinely happy at Colorado. He probably would not leave Boulder for anything less than a $10 million salary, which would place him among the 10 highest-paid coaches in the NFL. Unless Jones is fully convinced that Sanders is the right man for the job, the Cowboys owner might prefer a less expensive option.
Though some believe Sanders is using the interest from NFL teams as leverage to get a new deal at Colorado, there is reason to believe he would be open to coaching the Cowboys.
