Deion Sanders is attracting big betting action for Colorado football

Nearly 18 years since he retired from the NFL, Deion Sanders still can draw quite a crowd in Las Vegas.

Once known as “Neon Deion,” he often gets invited to speak at conventions in the Neon Capital of the World, including last month for a gathering of private dental practice professionals. On Friday, he was scheduled to make another highly anticipated appearance there as the new head football coach at Colorado -- until he canceled because of health issues with his legs.  

But even when he’s not there in person, his presence still will loom large this year, maybe bigger than ever before, for one big reason.

He’s suddenly big bait for bettors.

“No question that Deion is good for business,” said David Babinski, manager of the Wynn Las Vegas Race & Sports Book. “He moves the needle.”

Consider several data points compiled by USA TODAY Sports from casino and sports gambling companies in Las Vegas. Together they tell a story about how Coach Prime has captured the imaginations of bettors, positively or negatively, one way or another.

What are the big bets on Sanders?

Colorado finished 1-11 last year and has had only two winning seasons in the past 17 years. But since the Buffaloes hired Sanders in December, their season opener at TCU on Sept. 2 has the most bet-upon college football game by handle (amount wagered) for DraftKings. Colorado is a 19.5-point underdog in that game against last year’s No. 2 team but has gotten 67% of the handle from gamblers with that points spread.

That and another betting proposition have stood out nationally: How many wins will Sanders get this season?

The over/under on that is 3.5 wins out of 12 regular-season games. Caesars and BetMGM told USA TODAY Sports that Colorado is the most bet-upon team for regular-season win totals. Of those who have wagered on this, 89% of the tickets and handle are on the Buffs to win more than 3.5 games, according to BetMGM.

“Colorado is by far the most popular win total we have seen action on since putting them up in early May,” said Joey Feazel, the college football lead at Caesars Sportsbook.

Feazel said that traditional powerhouses such as Alabama and Ohio State “usually take the cake for the most wagers in terms of both tickets and money.” That’s still generally true, he said. But this year, “a certain team has shown up amongst the blue bloods that has not been in the spotlight in quite some time, and that’s the Colorado Buffaloes,” Feazel said.

Why are bettors attracted to Colorado now?

Sanders, 55, still has a big national following from his days as a two-sport star and Pro Football Hall of Famer. But what he’s done with his roster at Colorado also has intrigued gamblers, who tend to look at his team this year in two drastically different ways.

They generally think he’s either all hype and destined to struggle against a difficult schedule. Or they see a big potential payoff if his unprecedented collection of nearly 70 newcomers comes together to make a surprise splash.

The betting market for the national championship reflects that. One year ago in July, Colorado ranked 44th in total money wagered and 41st in total bets to win the national championship for the 2022 season, according to DraftKings. This year, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook report that Colorado has become a Top 10 most-popular team among bettors to win the national championship − a gamble that is attractive to those who like the potential of a big payoff with little risk at long odds.

For example, DraftKings said it has taken a $300 bet on Colorado to win the national championship at odds of +40,000, meaning that wager alone could win that bettor $120,000.

“He’s certainly drawing a crowd, so to speak,” said Johnny Avello, who is based in Las Vegas as the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings.

At the Wynn sportsbook, Colorado is its third-biggest liability to win the national championship. BetMGM also reduced its own future liability on Colorado by moving the line down to +25,000 for the Buffs to win the national title. BetMGM said they rank No. 5 nationally in betting tickets to win it all.

Who is betting against Sanders?

Some are skeptical of his chances for success this year, particularly the professional gamblers. Feazel of Caesars Sportsbook says the win-total betting market with Colorado has become a field of “Pros vs. Joes,” in which one side is favored by professional gamblers and the other is favored by fans.

“We are seeing a lot of professional action betting on the under 3.5 wins for a couple of reasons, the first being their schedule,” Feazel said. “Colorado’s schedule is not forgiving, as the first two matchups come against TCU and Nebraska. Colorado also returns less than 15 scholarship players to their roster.

"And while they added big talents such as his son, Sheduer Sanders at quarterback, and exciting two-way player Travis Hunter to the team, the pro bettors question whether they will have enough depth to compete in a talented Pac-12 Conference down the stretch.”

How do they stack up in the Pac-12?

Because of his leg issues, Sanders didn’t make the trip to Las Vegas this week to attend the Pac-12’s annual media day Friday with other Pac-12 coaches. But he hopes to be back in town no later than Dec. 2 for the Pac-12 championship at Allegiant Stadium.

The oddsmakers don’t believe he will. BetMGM has Colorado tied for the second-longest odds (+10,000) to win the league, ahead of only Stanford (+25,000).

But the bettors believe – or at least hope.

Colorado ranks first at BetMGM on bets to win the Pac-12 in both tickets (67%) and amount wagered (74%).

“The bettors, they see the way this guy recruits, the way the players follow him and play for him, and they think there is probably more to come for Colorado,” said Avello of DraftKings. “He’s been a winner his whole life.”