Shedeur Sanders fight song controversy: Why Colorado star's 'Perfect Timing' track is sparking outrage on social media

Shedeur Sanders, much like his father, Deion, is a man of many talents. One of those happens to be music. When the Colorado quarterback is away from the giridiron, he moonlights as an emcee, too.

Sanders' sole release, "Perfect Timing," has enjoyed a steady position in college football fans' playlist since its spring 2024 release.

The track, furnished with minimalist production that includes — among other sounds — a piano, is just the sort of ditty expected to gain buzz across social media circles.

Colorado has seemingly embraced the funk, as well, allowing Sanders' tune to spill out of its stadium speakers when he finds the end zone. Such a gesture would appear to have been put into effect as a show of goodwill for Sanders, his father, the the program the two are attempting to bolster in Boulder. Not everyone is a fan of such a move.

MORE: Inside the lyrics and more to know about "Perfect Timing"

With that, here's what you need to know about the younger Sanders' song, a track that has spawned serious outrage in college football's first few weeks.

Shedeur Sanders 'Perfect Timing' controversy, explained

"Perfect Timing" is not the most divisive of songs. It features sparse instrumentation, a steady drum kick, and Sanders' woozy voice, all of which come together to form a track that appears to take great influence from the likes of Rod Wave and YoungBoy Never Broke Again, among others.

The lyrics touch on a handful of topics, from Sanders' custom Audemars Piguet timepiece — which stood at the center of his "legendary flex" celebration — to his 2023 purchase of a Mercedes-Maybach.

All told, "Perfect Timing" is a perfectly reasonable release, particularly given Sanders' heightened stock following the 2023 campaign. The Buffaloes appear to have taken notice, too, including a snippet of the song in its PA collection. Whenever Sanders finds paydirt, that snippet is released into the ether, a sort of added reward for Sanders' exploits.

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104.3 The Fan , a Denver-based sports radio station, noted — perhaps erroneously — that Deion Sanders "told the band they couldn’t play" if Shedeur Sanders scored a touchdown. The purported reason why? So the stadium loudspeakers could play "Perfect Timing" instead.

Responding to 104.3 The Fan's claims, Colorado put out a statement. In its rebuttal, Deion Sanders' football program asserted the radio station's accusation was "not true."

"Nobody ever asked the band to refrain from playing the fight song," a Buffaloes spokesperson said. "After a touchdown, the band plays 'Glory, Glory, Colorado.' and after a point after touchdown, the band plays 'Fight CU,' as has been standard practice for years.

"When Shedeur Sanders scores, the band will wait a moment for a small snippet of Shedeur's song to play before immediately kicking into 'Glory, Glory, Colorado.'"

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The spokesperson cited that the practice of casting a light toward one of Colorado's player's songs isn't a foreign concept, nor is it specific to Sanders alone. After field goal attempts sail through the upright, a snippet of kicker Alejandro Mata's song is also played through the speaker. It's unclear quite what the Mata track is or where it's available to listen to.

All City's Network's Ryan Koenigsberg did some additional research on the matter. He found that on one touchdown sequence during the Buffaloes' victory over North Dakota State, Colorado opted to go straight into "Perfect Timing" until the PAT. It was at that point that the marching band was instructed to play "Fight CU"

Deion Sanders appeared to have his say on the matter, firing off a cryptic statement on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

At present, it's unclear what type of involvement "Perfect Timing" will have during in-game festivities this season. Winning solves everything, though. So, if Deion, Shedeur, and the rest of the Buffaloes can find a way to win more games than last season, perhaps that will assuage some concerns going forward.