Deion Sanders and Colorado shut out of 2026 NFL Combine originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NFL Combine field is set with the Big 12 being represented in Indianapolis, except for Colorado. Nearly every team in the conference will have a player testing and interviewing inside Lucas Oil Stadium this month.

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But Deion Sanders will be back in Boulder focused on other things. The Colorado Buffaloes’ will not have a single participant this year. No quarterback. No defensive back. No lineman. Not even a specialist.

For a program led by one of the greatest NFL players in modern history, that matters.

Sanders has built his message around a clear mantra. NFL over NIL. Development over distraction. The league is the goal. The brand and the endorsements follow the production.

More: 2026 NFL combine: Full list of draft prospects invited

However, there will be no Buffs in the building where draft momentum begins. And this is not a roster without belief. Arden Walker, Preston Hodge, Keaten Wade, Kaidon Salter, Sincere Brown and Amari McNeill all stepped into the draft pool.

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The confidence is there. But the combine validation is not.

More: Deion Sanders’ grandson shakes up the latest kids rankings

Keep in mind, a combine snub doesn’t necessarily put an end to careers. Pro days can still sway scouts. The month of April still produces players who carve out roles without a combine invite. But the combine remains the most visible checkpoint in the pre-draft cycle, and visibility carries weight.

Within the Big 12, Colorado was not entirely alone. West Virginia Mountaineers football and Oklahoma State Cowboys football were also shut out.

More: Latest bowl shutdowns raise new questions about College Football Playoff expansion

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Colorado operates under the brightest spotlight of the three, and in a program that has made NFL over NIL part of its identity, the expectation is straightforward. If the message is about development and the league being the destination, the next step is simply getting Buffaloes back to Indianapolis.

Maybe 2027 will be a better year for CU to the NFL?

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