Deion Sanders is Sports Illustrated’s 2023 Sportsperson of the Year

University of Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders is Sports Illustrated‘s 2023 Sportsperson of the Year.

The publication announced the news on Thursday, and released the cover of their upcoming magazine featuring Coach Prime. The issue will hit newsstands on Dec. 14.

Coach Prime is here, and he's just getting started

Deion Sanders is SI's 2023 Sportsperson of the Year! https://t.co/Xebtm9bmNZ pic.twitter.com/Sdt500V93u

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 30, 2023

The story is written by veteran journalist Pat Forde and “details how Sanders has brought new life to campus, helped transform a community and the college football landscape,” according to an SI press release.

Coach Prime certainly burst onto the scene, leading CU to a 3-0 start and becoming the talk of the sports world. The television ratings were through the roof, College Gameday came to Boulder and people couldn’t get enough of the Buffs.

But then the wheels came of, as Colorado lost eight of their last nine games and the season ended with a whimper this past Saturday in Utah. QB Shedeur Sanders didn’t play due to injury, and former OC Sean Lewis has already left for a better gig.

Still, it was an overall successful year for Deion Sanders and his team, and SI is pleased with its choice.

“Deion Sanders dominated the sports conversation in 2023 as a transformative figure not just in Colorado, but for the entire realm of college sports,” Stephen Cannella, SI’s Editor in Chief, said in a press release. “On and off the field, he represents a new model for the modern college coach. The Sportsperson of the Year honor, a distinction for some of the most legendary figures in sports over the past seven decades, is now enriched by the addition of Deion to its roster.”

It’s Coach Prime’s seventh cover of Sports Illustrated, with his first coming back in 1989 as a pro football and baseball player.

The last person to win Sportsperson of the Year with Colorado connections was Broncos QB Peyton Manning in 2013, a historic season for him and the team in which he threw 55 touchdown passes.

Sports Illustrated will honor Coach Prime next Wednesday, Dec. 6, with his award while also watching the world premiere of “Coach Prime” Season 2 on Prime Video.

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