Colorado has lost five straight games and is off to an 0-4 start in Big 12 play this season. But on Tuesday, Deion Sanders found himself answering questions about more than just the Buffaloes' continued struggles.

He was also asked about a comment his friend Christopher Neely, otherwise known as "Uncle Neely," recently referenced online.

That led to the fourth-year Buffs head coach clarifying that he hasn't offered money to silence his critics.

On Sunday, a clip was posted of Neely discussing the scrutiny Sanders faces:

"For the most part, the people that attack him wouldn't be making the money they were making if he wasn't here to attack, which is why he told some of them, 'Hey man, 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."

After a reporter inquired Tuesday at Sanders' weekly Colorado news conference about that kind of deal, Sanders seemed taken aback.

"Offered money?" Sanders said, inquisitively.

Neely, a YouTube content creator, reportedly was in the room at the time and explained what the reporter was alluding to, reminding Sanders what he had said on a show they did together in the spring.

"Oh no, no, no," Sanders said. "I think you misinterpreted that. I said, like some of y'all in here sitting right now, I would love to give you money and not mention my name. And I want to see how far that goes. That was a joke. That's what we were saying. Some people live on your name."

Later Tuesday, during Neely's "Thee Pregame Network" livestream, Neely addressed the situation. He said the original Sanders remark he recounted came from a May show he did with Sanders.

During Tuesday's stream, Sanders' original comment was played back:

"How much you make off selling me out?" Sanders said back in May. "I give you that. Don't mention my name. See how well your show do. I give you that. What you get? You get 25, 50? What you get? 50? I give you that. Don't mention my name, my likeness, my image, my kids, nobody. Don't mention none of that for a year. Let's see how that works."

Sanders can be seen smiling at the end of that clip.

"Now you see that smile at the end," Neely said Tuesday on his stream. "If you watched the buildup at the beginning, this was clearly a tongue-in-cheek joking example to prove a point. … "

When talking with reporters Tuesday, Sanders emphasized he "would never offer a man money."

The Pro Football Hall of Famer added: "I don't give a damn what you say about me. That was really a joke. ... It's not in my heart to not to like anybody in this room. I may not like some things you may do or say, but I don't know you enough to form that opinion."

Also in that news conference, Sanders said he's been receiving criticism for years, including throughout a coaching career that took off at FCS Jackson State.

"This is normalcy because I'm just different,” the 59-year-old Sanders said. "I'm unapologetic about things I say and how I live my life. I love the Lord with all my heart, which is controversial as well, but it is what it is. I'm not here to please men.

"I'm here to please God."

Earlier on, Sanders again took accountability for the way this season has unfolded, and for the way Colorado has performed the past two seasons.

After winning nine games during a 2024 campaign that saw his son Shedeur star at quarterback and two-way standout Travis Hunter hoist the Heisman Trophy, the Buffaloes have gone a combined 5-14 overall and 1-12 in Big 12 competition.

"It hurts tremendously, but I've been through amputation, man. I've been through cancer, and I can't weigh that with that," Sanders said. "This is life, and this is a game. I want to win life. I want to live, and I want to win games, but that's a different comparison. So I definitely want to win with all my heart and all my soul, but it's just a different thought process. It's not that I'm thinking less of it. …

"This is a beautiful place, and you guys deserve a winner. You've been wanting a winner for a long time. That's why our fan base is what it is because you got a taste of it, and you want that back, and I want that for you. We just haven't been able to get it together — that's not "we"; I haven't been able to get it together. That's it."

This season, not much has gone right for Colorado since it pulled out a one-point win over a now-2-5 Georgia Tech team in the season opener.

In the wake of a 41-7 road loss to Northwestern, Buffaloes safety Ben Finneseth apologized after going viral for disparaging the Wildcats' temporary stadium in the lead-up to the blowout defeat. Additionally, Sanders revealed he had removed players for "conduct detrimental to the team."

Then he replaced highly touted quarterback JuJu Lewis amid a loss to Baylor. He started Isaac Wilson, the younger brother of 2021 No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson, against Texas Tech a week after that. The Buffs dropped that game, too, and a while later, Sanders downplayed Red Raiders fans discovering Colorado's play sheets before the teams' matchup.

Sanders said Tuesday that eliminating penalties and finding some kind of consistency will be the key to returning to the win column this weekend against Kansas State.