Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick Spark Debate with Controversial Decision

Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick Spark Debate with Controversial Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The upcoming college football season is just over a month away, and two of the sport’s hottest names are Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders and first-year North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick. 

Sanders is building a promising future with key players like Shedeur Sanders, Shilo Sanders, and Travis Hunter, while Belichick, at 73, is embarking on his first collegiate coaching stint after an iconic NFL career.

Both teams are generating plenty of excitement heading into the season. However, Sanders and Belichick recently made a surprising joint decision revealed on Monday—they will not be included in the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game, bucking the trend of most coaches who typically participate.

Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick declined to be in EA Sports College Football 26, per @ChrisVannini 👀 pic.twitter.com/VlCR5q0Lg8

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 7, 2025

This decision sparked debate among fans, with some insisting the coaches should be featured, while others felt it wasn’t a big deal—especially given Belichick’s well-known reluctance to participate in Madden games during his NFL tenure.

"Rare Deion L," a fan said. 

Someone else added, "This is so corny." 

Another fan posted, "If Deion Sanders is not in the game then they should probably give the generic head coach a rating based on recent history and that's certainly not an A+."

"Belichick is no surprise but Sanders is, he’s usually all about the flashy hey look at me stuff," one more fan commented. 

Deion Sanders was once one of the flashiest players in the league, and he’s carried much of that flair into his coaching career—first at Jackson State and now with Colorado. That makes his decision to opt out of the game more surprising than Bill Belichick’s, who has always been strictly business.

After taking a year off, the sports world got to see a different side of the longtime New England Patriots coach. Belichick made appearances on the "ManningCast," the "Pat McAfee Show," and other networks, which was a welcome change. But now that he’s back to coaching, his signature no-nonsense coaching vibe has returned.

Related: Ohio State Turn Heads With Jeremiah Smith News on Tuesday

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.