Deion Sanders reveals new Nike Diamond Turf colorway— Here's why it's too much, too fast

Deion Sanders made a rare Saturday appearance on a new podcast.

The Colorado Buffaloes coach added commentary about various topics for over an hour with CFB Scoop host and former On3 personality Phillip Dukes.

In the first minute of the broadcast, Coach Prime pulled out a never-before-seen Nike Air Diamond Turf 2 colorway. At first glance, it appears to be black on black with gold accents. Not surprising given Sanders’ current setup with the Buffs. However, upon further inspection, there are questions if not concerns.

The gold seems to only cover the breathable mesh and logos. If it is black on black, there is a design issue or a quality control issue. If it’s not black, there is a larger design conversation that needs to be had. To call it black would suggest an intentionally faded black or a low percentage bleach job. The truly alarming realization is that this shoe looks more like a Colorado State colorway than a CU colorway.

The impression of a black that has faded into a tarnished or light Kelly green. Like the green tarnish one finds on heavily worn fake gold. Which conjures many ideas as to why this is a failure. This type of green has its place. On a Nike ACG or a casual shoe would be fine. But it is borderline unacceptable on the signature line for Sanders.

Nike built an empire on the backs of several design staples. If this presentation of the new colorway is not the fault of poor lighting or a lower resolution camera (which should not be the case), then this colorway steps into the realm of ‘go back to the drawing board’. No color or shade of a color is categorically off limits, but there are colors or combinations that are very unlike Nike or belong elsewhere. A tarnished green and gold would certainly qualify.

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In the past two decades, Nike has blurred the lines of what has been traditionally successful. This is an attempt to reach a younger demographic that wasn’t around when these concepts were established. Currently, Nike is beginning to feel the negative effects of compromising their brand to appeal to consumers of a certain age. The problem is those kids are growing up and growing out of those fads that Nike never should have bent the knee to.

It’s possible that Nike saw an opportunity to create a youthful colorway that might appeal to that portion of the consumer base. Which would be fine for an Air Force One or a Dunk or even an artist collab. Artist collabs are famous for adding colorways to Nike signatures that Nike never would have done on their own. Further proving the point that most, if not all, artistic collabs are categorically bad. Rappers and influencers are not designers, and it shows.

Deion Sanders and Nike are simply doing too much. The market saturation since Coach Prime rejoined the brand four years ago has been noticeable. Nike release a new Diamond Turf model or colorway once every three weeks to capitalize on the 'Prime Effect'. The OG maize sold out in seconds and sparked a frenzy.

The "Colorado Road" and "Colorado Away" in 2023 sold out almost immediately as well. By December 2024, the “Falcons” edition was still available in stores days after the release date. After a quick search, every single Diamond Turf model that is not a cleat or not sold directly from Nike.com is all significantly under retail on the secondary market. Some being sold at half the retail price.

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Why is this a concern? Nike bases their success on liquidation. In a meeting with Deion Sanders and most of his sons in 2024, Shilo Sanders asked about liquidation rates. The Nike rep in the room was adamant that they never wanted any shoe sitting past the release date. If Nike were honest, they wouldn’t want a shoe sitting in an inventory after the first 10 minutes of its release.

The bottom line is Nike and Sanders are putting out too many colorways, way too frequently.

Even if most people were not feeling the effects of economic woes, this is too much. They are not allowing consumers enough time to regain excitement. In doing so, they have exhausted most of the colorways that should apply to this signature line and have now stepped into colorways that do not make sense for these models.

At the current rate, the Diamond Turf line will become a product they can’t move before the end of Sanders’ current CU contract, which ends in 2029. An argument could be made that Sanders should have had as many as ten signature models. The truth is only four count within the sneaker culture (The Diamond Turf 1, 2, 3 and 6). There’s a reason the Jordan 11 still sells out immediately. Why? The significant time between releases. If consumers believe the next Diamond Turf will drop within the month, there is no urgency to buy.

Just like Sanders and the Buffs on the field. There needs to be a new approach to success moving forward. What will be interesting to see is which Nike Diamond Turf cleats Colorado will be running out of the tunnel with in less than a month. The Buffs head to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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