Colorado football coach Deion Sanders spent a portion of his weekly news conference Oct. 27 debunking a claim he offered $50,000 to certain people to keep them quiet and stop criticizing him.

“That was a joke,” Sanders said Tuesday.

But the claim still caught fire on the internet nonetheless, benefiting from the combustible atmosphere of Sanders’ struggles in 2026. His team is 2-5 after five consecutive losses, leading to heightened criticism of Sanders as his team prepares to face Kansas State at home Oct. 31. It marked the latest flash point in a simmering drama between supporters of Sanders and Colorado football fans that have gotten fed up with losing.

Here’s how it started and how it’s going.

Where did the $50,000 claim come from?

The claim stems from a point Sanders made earlier this year that if he offered some people $25,000 or $50,000 to stop talking, writing and criticizing him and his family for a year, they wouldn’t take it because they’d lose money.

“Let’s see how that works” Sanders said on Thee Pregame Show in May.

He didn’t frame it as a serious offer. He was making a point. There are content creators and news media dedicated to covering what he says and trying to stir the pot about him.

How did this false claim catch fire recently?

One of Sanders’ friends, Christopher Neely, came with Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado, where Neely does a podcast on the team and is known as loyal supporter of Sanders. He is granted access to Sanders and his program in exchange.

As criticism about Sanders shot up after a 57-24 loss at Oklahoma State on Oct. 24, Neely recalled Sanders’ previous point about the $50,000. He talked about it during a podcast last weekend.

“The people that attack you wouldn't be making the money they were making if he wasn't here (in Colorado) to attack,” Neely said. “Which is why he told some of them, ‘Hey man, just let's just do this. I give you $50,000 to not mention my name for a year.’ And ain't nobody took the deal yet.”

Social media users and bloggers took this literally and ran with it without getting further verification under old journalism standards. But he was referring to Sanders’ previous point. Then a reporter asked Sanders about it at his weekly news conference on Tuesday.

What Deion Sanders said about $50,000 'offer' Tuesday

A reporter asked him, “Have you offered money for people not to criticize you?”

“Offered money?” Sanders asked.

Neely, who sits near Sanders at news conferences, then reminded Sanders what he said in May — about how some wouldn’t take a hypothetical offer of $50,000 to not talk about it for a year because it would be bad for their business.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Sanders said told the reporter who asked him about the money offer. “I think you misinterpreted that.”

So he explained it again.

“I would never offer a man money,” Sanders said. “I don’t give a damn what you say about me. That was really a joke about someone prospering off of your name and your brand, but they don’t like you.”