BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders has not attended football camps in Boulder, Colorado, this spring.
The University of Colorado said it couldn’t comment on a reason for his absence. ESPN, citing a source it did not name, said Sanders has been ill and out of the office recently.
Over the weekend, his son Deion Sanders Jr. posted a livestream video on YouTube in which he said his father remains at his Texas home and “feeling well,” according to USA Today. His son added in the video: “He’ll tell y’all soon enough what he’s going through.”
Sanders is required to operate a minimum of three on-campus football camps, according to the contract extension he signed in March. Sanders’ deal runs through the 2029 season and made him the highest-paid football coach in the Big 12 Conference.
The 57-year-old Sanders has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State. He missed media day in 2023, his first year at Colorado, after a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot.
Asked about his father at the Browns’ minicamp Tuesday, rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders responded: “Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on. So I’m here not to talk about Pops. I’m here to be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. I’m focused on learning this playbook and everything I got to do to be the most successful quarterback and best teammate I could be. Outside of that, I don’t really have no thoughts or really opinions on anything outside this game.”
Deion Sanders was a scratch last weekend as a keynote speaker at the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium in Florida. The organization posted on social media that “due to an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change, our originally scheduled Foundation Keynote Speaker, Deion Sanders ‘Coach Prime’ is unable to attend.” Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson was his replacement.
The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 by hosting Georgia Tech.
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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
