Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders announced Monday he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had surgery to remove his bladder. His doctors announced the procedure resulted in Sanders being “cured.”
“We’re going to beat it, aren’t we?” Sanders asked Dr. Janet Kukreja on stage at a news conference in Boulder.
“It’s beaten,” she answered.
Deion Sanders walks the sideline at Folsom Field in Boulder, Color., on Aug. 29, 2024.RJ Sangosti / The Denver Post via Getty Images file
Sanders, 57, said he expects to coach the Buffaloes next season. He joked that going forward he may need to have a “porta-potty on the sideline.”
The football legend said he lost approximately 25 pounds during the process. He described life after the surgery as “dynamic” and “tough.”
“It wasn’t a cakewalk. It wasn’t easy,” said Sanders. “Even using the bathroom thereafter was a challenge.”
He encouraged everyone to get regular checkups so doctors could spot any potential issue early.
“Everybody get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon this,” he said. “Make sure you go to the get the right care because without wonderful people like this, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
Dr. Kukreja, the Director of Urological Oncology at the University of Colorado Health, described the diagnosis as a high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. She said they discussed treatment options, but opted to remove Sanders’ bladder due to his commitments to his family and the football program.
When asked how his life will change going forward, she said “day-to-day, for most patients, becomes just a new way of life.”
“But outlook is very good. We’ll just keep them on routine surveillance scans. Other than that, nothing else.”
Sanders played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens. A star defensive back, he earned six All-Pro honors and nine Pro Bowl teams while leading the 49ers and Cowboys to Super Bowl victories in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
He was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sanders was named head coach of Jackson State in Mississippi in 2020 and helped turn around the FCS program. After a 4-3 first season (that was shortened due to COVID), he led the Tigers to an 11-2 record in 2021 with a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. They repeated as titleholders the next year with a 12-1 record.
Colorado hired Sanders in 2023 to lead the Buffaloes. Despite a 4-8 initial year, the Buffaloes went 9-4 in 2024 with an Alamo Bowl appearance. Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions en route to being named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders was not with Colorado in June due to an unspecified health issue, he said on social media.
“Wow, I am truly blessed for the abundance of well wishes, for all the thoughts and all of the prayers,” Sanders wrote. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! 🙏🏾 I can assure you all that everything is OKAY and will continue to be so. God got me like no other. I have so much more work to do to Glorify God so please believe God got me! I’m excited to get back to Colorado to be at home with my staff, team & all associated to our program. When we arrive back to Boulder you will be updated on everything. Until then, I’M COMING BABY, #CoachPrime.”
In a video released by Sanders’ son, Deion Sanders Jr., on Sunday, Sanders said he had made a will.
“Mentally, emotionally, last night was tough, yesterday was tough, because I had to make a will,” he said in a video. “That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here.”
Sanders signed a five-year, $54 million contract extension in March that runs through the 2029 season.
“I’m happy and elated about everything, especially this opportunity that I have to coach these young men and to lead some of these women that are part of our organization, part of this program,” he said Monday. “I’m so thankful to be back in Boulder, you have no idea. But I never doubted one bit that I would be. I knew it was just a matter of time.”