A ton of controversy sparked recently when Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter had their jerseys retired during Colorado’s Spring Game. Many questioned the timing of the ceremony — and naturally, whether it was even justified, considering they’ve only played two seasons. And yes, no playoff appearance.
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Well, it seems Mike Florio has a theory of his own. He speculated that Deion and company may have made this move for an entirely different reason.
Let’s start from the beginning: the announcement was made ahead of the Spring Bowl, catching a lot of people off guard. After all, both players had just wrapped up their college careers and hadn’t even entered the NFL Draft yet.
As Florio pointed out, a regular-season game for the ceremony might’ve made for a more fitting occasion. That way, Shedeur and Travis could return to be honored, either together or separately. Instead, the decision felt oddly timed, to say the least.
However, Florio viewed this timing situation through a different lens. He suggested that it may have been an effort to boost Spring Bowl attendance. Well, if that was the goal, Deion fell short by a significant margin.
“If Deion thought doing it right now would lead to a spike in fans at the spring game, it didn’t. Attendance for the event was 20,430. That’s sharply down from more than 47,000 in 2023 and 28,424 in 2024. (Last year’s drop was attributed to the weather; this year, weather wasn’t an issue.)” wrote the PFT journalist.
Attendance for the Colorado Spring Game has been declining progressively over the years. But honestly, this isn’t unusual. When Deion first arrived, there was a wave of excitement surrounding the team, leading to a massive turnout. Then, last year, the hype faded a bit after a 4-8 regular season. This year, without Shedeur or Hunter, their preseason buzz is the lowest it’s been in a while.
The Spring Game typically isn’t an event for casual students and fans. It’s more for the die-hards looking to get an early read on the team. Regardless, Deion felt the fans should’ve shown up in bigger numbers on Monday.
“We do have a tremendous fan base, but we need a little more support when it comes to whatever we do inside the stadium,” Sanders said. “We should be packing it like it’s a game.”
This all but confirms Florio’s theory. It seems as though Deion did try to make Shedeur and Hunter’s jersey retirements an event that he hoped more would come out to see. But the quick turnaround caught everyone off guard.
For instance, former Colorado alumnus David Bakhtiari expressed anger and frustration over the retirements — more so with Shedeur’s than Hunter’s. Not because Shedeur wasn’t an impactful player, but because he wore the same number as Colorado legend Deon Figures, who arguably had a better career in Boulder than Deion Sanders’ son, even winning the national championship.
So, what does Deion Sanders think about the timing?
“The time frame, nobody’s going to be happy with,” Deion said (via Fox Sports). “Somebody’s always going to have something to say. But the way we are right now, we are a now generation… those guys deserve what they deserve right now. So I’m proud of them.”
All that said, Shedeur and Hunter’s jersey retirement ceremony was a misstep by Deion. Additionally, Florio seems to be on the right track. The event felt like an attempt to boost attendance numbers for the Spring Game. Unfortunately for the head coach, the effort fell short.
