Colorado was a founding member of the original Big 12, starting the league in 1996 and staying through 2011 before eventually leaving for the Pac-12.
Following the departure of Big 12 members Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, the league went on the offensive to fill those open spots and then ended up a handful of teams in an effort to minimize the blow of losing two of the premier teams in the league
Over the past two seasons, the Big 12 has added eight new teams to bring the Big 12 2.0 to a total of 16 teams. The most recent additions include Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State, and those join the 2023 additions of BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.
As a former founding member, Colorado was a natural choice to be the Big 12's top target in that second wave of additions, but to sweeten the pot the Big 12 used an "added enticement," according to Brett Schrotenboer of USA Today.
Schrotenboer shares that Colorado was offered a $2.5 million "signing bonus" to leave the Pac-12 and join the Big 12.
The three other Pac-12 teams that followed Colorado's lead didn't get any form of a signing bonus, Schrotenboer added, citing Big 12 admission agreements.
Knowing that, could we, possibly, call that a "Prime" signing bonus?
An educated college football fan won't be able to help but wonder if Colorado's offer of a "signing bonus" was influenced by the change Deion Sanders has brought to the program.
No one can debate that the results on the field were underwhelming as the program went 4-8 in year one under coach Prime and his staff, but the Colorado brand has seen a major spike in nearly every other imaginable way heading into year two.
Prime has a staff that has recruited and targeted the portal in unprecedented ways since his arrival in Boulder, he's built a staff with top tier NFL experience, and Colorado is now an elite destination being considered by some of the best recruits and transfers in all of football.
Could Brett Yormark have had that in mind when they made the signing bonus offer? Well the league's commissioner isn't sharing the behind the scenes workings.
“I’m not going to discuss my negotiating tactics," Yormark shared.
"But listen, we were thrilled that Colorado was the first mover. Ultimately one got us four, you know, when you think about it. Whatever we did in those negotiations seemed to work out pretty well for us.”
Year two in Boulder for Prime brings a lot of new faces, both on the staff and in the locker room, but having someone like Prime that fully embraces being an outsider in a league that will forever be fighting from a disadvantage battling top leagues like the Big 10 and SEC for third place alongside the ACC, $2.5 million could end up being a bargain of the century for Yormark and the league.