Extra precaution is needed in Colorado.
Deion Sanders’ bodyguard revealed that the Buffaloes head coach receives five death threats per day, which was discussed in the first team meeting of 2026.
The warning came from Michael Rhodes, Sanders’ bodyguard, who spoke to players in a meeting captured on video and shared publicly by Deion Sanders Jr., the eldest son of Coach Prime.
Rhodes urged players to be vigilant inside football facilities, stressing that access to restricted areas must be tightly controlled.
“I’m Officer Rhodes. I’m head of security for Coach Prime,” Rhodes reportedly told the team. “Real quick, I want to say this. Those of y’all that are new, when y’all head up to the facilities in the morning, be mindful of who comes in with you, especially on the elevator. Don’t let somebody coerce you into scanning them up on the floor, because everybody’s trying to get to Coach Prime. Those people that are trying to get to them, not all of them have good intentions. So just be mindful of that, don’t prop open any doors, because my philosophy is, if the doors open, they will come through. Then they’re gonna have to meet me.”
Sanders then explained to the team why the coach has security with him at all times, according to USA Today.
Rhodes is listed as part of Colorado’s staff with the title “private security to the head coach” and makes $48,880 for the role.
Rhodes was previously a police officer at Jackson State, where Sanders made his initial splash in the coaching ranks before arriving at Colorado before the 2023 season.
“We get death threats all the time,” Sanders said. “Why? I’m a Black man making it happen, making things move, making all that happen. So we have stuff that’s real.”
Sanders asked Rhodes, “How many death threats we get?”
Rhodes replied, “About five every day.”
Since taking over the Buffaloes program, Sanders has delivered mixed on-field results alongside unprecedented attention.
Colorado finished 4-8 in 2023, improved to 9-4 in 2024 with a loss in the Alamo Bowl to BYU, then regressed to 3-9 in 2025 amid injuries and roster turnover, including the loss of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son.
While Sanders has only produced one winning season, he has dramatically increased Colorado’s national profile, recruiting visibility and media exposure.
