Deion Sanders Takes Sarcastic Shot At The Athletic During Media Days

Not many people in college football hold a grudge longer or more openly than Colorado's Deion Sanders.

by Tzvi Machlin

Jul 8, 2026

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

Not many people in college football hold a grudge longer or more openly than Colorado's Deion Sanders. He reminded everyone of that this week with a comment about The Athletic, an outlet he's shared barbs with before.

In a recent interview, Sanders weighed in on his absence from the EA Sports College Football 27 video game. Sanders dismissed the issue, declaring that he probably wasn't offered enough money to lend his likeness to it.

“I don’t know about the video games,” Sanders began. “I have a wonderful team that handles a lot of business for me. If I’m not in the game, that mean they weren’t paying enough. It probably didn’t fit what we were doing right now. That’s probably it. It’s probably just that simplistic.”

But he then added a little jab at The Athletic, since it was The Athletic's David Ubben who asked him the question.

“Thank you Athletic. You guys do a wonderful job. You know I’m lying, right?” Sanders remarked.

Bringing Back the Beef

Deion Sanders has had a long-running public feud with The Athletic and other news outlets. The conflict dates back to the start of his tenure as head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, when Sanders criticized several stories and accused the publication of focusing on controversy rather than his team's progress.

In response, Sanders has at times restricted access for some reporters from The Athletic and others from press conferences and other media events, arguing that he was under no obligation to provide access to an outlet he believed had treated him unfairly.

CU football head coach Deion Sanders, or Coach Prime, watches his team warm up before the game against CSU in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo.

His issues with Ubben and The Athletic began in 2025 at the Big 12 Media Days, when Ubben asked him about his health. Sanders, who had been dealing with a slew of issues at the time, was not amused by the line of questions.

“Athletic, sometimes y’all be on that bulljunk,” Sanders said in 2025. “So, I’m really not going to tell you much. You know that. But I’m not here to talk to you about my health; I’m here to talk about my team."

Clearly Sanders hasn't forgotten, and he's making sure the rest of the world doesn't either.