Deion Sanders knows the game of football and advertising like few others, evidenced by two big wins on Sept 16. Sanders entered into a collaboration with Blenders Eyewear to capitalize on the shades that he often wears while patrolling the sidelines of the University of Colorado’s football games.
According to the Blenders x Prime storefront, the shades retail for $67 but with a coupon for first-time buyers they can be purchased at a 15% discount.
During an appearance on ESPN‘s First Take program, Sanders handed out pairs of shades to Stephen A. Smith, Molly Querim, and Shannon Sharpe. He also gave a pair of shades to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on ESPN’s College Game Day program; Johnson was serving as a guest on the show alongside the coach. Sanders was fresh off his surprise appearance on the Sept 15 Denver, CO, episode of WWE’s Smackdown program.
Deion Sanders recently launched a line of custom sunglasses with Blenders Eyewear.
So when the Colorado St. head coach commented on him wearing them during interviews, Sanders took advantage.
Coach Prime handed them out to the entire team, which went viral on social media. And… pic.twitter.com/3kw9tPpYGQ
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 16, 2023
Sanders also gave shades to his entire football team, and footage of this went viral. In the video, Sanders implied that the Colorado State University Head Coach Jay Norvell gave them ammunition when he talked negatively about Sanders’ habit of wearing his sunglasses and hat during interviews, implying that Sanders has poor home training.
Sanders told his team, “They done messed around and made it personal…Not are we gone kick they butts but it’s gone be business but it’s also pleasure” before revealing to the team that he has a line of shades with Blenders Eyewear. He added that Coach Norvell unwittingly helped him with business. According to sports personality Joe Pompliano, Sanders said that the eyewear company generated $1.2 million in sales on Sept 16 following his appearance on the program.
Wow!!! The Rock said it all about Deion Sanders on Gameday this morning!! #deionsanders #prime #rock #espncollegegameday #colorado #coloradofootball #buffaloes #footballoneonone #duanejohnson pic.twitter.com/SCBZ8QMZiL
— Eric Bailey (@CulturalRights1) September 17, 2023
As far as the game goes, it was a highly competitive affair, with the teams trading touchdowns back and forth long into the night. Sanders’ Colorado team won a double overtime thriller that lived up to the expectations of a rivalry game. It was not, however, without its share of controversial moments.
First, the two teams nearly had a brawl break out before the game as tempers flared. Then, during a first-quarter play where premier two-way superstar Travis Hunter ran along the sideline for a pass, he was hit while in a defenseless position by a Colorado State player. Following the play, Sanders’ son and Heisman trophy candidate Shedeur Sanders had to be held back by a teammate from getting in the opposing player’s face. Later in the game, the Buffaloes signal caller proved that the apple indeed does not fall far from the tree by engineering a drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and then engineering the game winning 98 yard overtime drive for Coach Prime and the University of Colorado. The Buffaloes took home the win 43-35, which was sealed by an interception by safety Trevor Woods on a pass to the end zone by quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nichollsi.
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