JERRY JONES will have to pay a huge fee if he wants to bring Deion Sanders back to Dallas.

The Cowboys’ billionaire owner has his sights set on one man for the vacant head coaching job after parting ways with Mike McCarthy.

Sanders won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys in 1995 and has become one of the hottest coaches in college football.

After going 27-6 in three years with the Jackson State Tigers, Sanders took over the Colorado Buffaloes.

They were 1-11 the year before he came in but Sanders has overhauled the program.

The Buffaloes went 4-8 in his first year before going 9-4 last season, finishing joint-first in the Big 12 before a defeat in the Alamo Bowl.

Coach Prime has also used his star power to recruit some of the top prospects in high school, with his son Shedeur and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter both expected to land in the top five picks in the NFL Draft.

Sanders’ meteoric rise as a coach, his superstar power and historic affiliation with the Cowboys all make him the top target for Jones.

But the outspoken owner will have to put his hand in his pocket to get it done.

Sanders is entering the third season if a five-year deal which pays him $29.5 million.

Front Office Sports has revealed that were he to leave the university he would be owed $8 million.

McCarthy was paid $8 million a season in Dallas, way below some of the highest-paid coaches in the league.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is top of that list and earns around $20 million per season – although he is chasing an unprecedented third successive Super Bowl.

Sanders is currently paid $5.9 million annually by Colorado and can earn a further $1.85 million in bonuses and incentives.

He is likely to want a raise to take one of the biggest jobs in American sports – especially with the Cowboys missing the playoffs.

McCarthy is said to have left the Cowboys over a contract impasse.

The Cowboys’ own website appeared to hint at the center of the issue – McCarthy wanted more guaranteed money over a longer period.

Columnist Mickey Spagnola wrote:  “Jerry likely wasn’t willing to commit guaranteed money over the five-year time period new head coaches have been signing over the past year, that certainly McCarthy’s agent, Don Yee, was angling for.”

Earlier this week, Sanders confirmed he had talked to Jones over the phone – although it appears he may be set to stay in Colorado for another season.

He told ESPN: “I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community.”

With the rumor mill in overdrive, Sanders also sent a message to the whole program this week.

He said: “It’s a privilege to be standing before you.

“I can’t explain how happy and how thoughtful and how thankful I am for this day.

“I’ve been praying about this day, I’ve been anticipating this day. You’ve got to understand it’s an emotional day for me.

“It’s the first day I’ve been up here without two knuckleheads. I’m looking back, Shilo told me I’d get mad at him for not being in the meeting today.

“Well he’s not meant to be in the meeting today. But this is the first day I’m coaching without my boys which is a pleasure and an honour for me, so now I can just be a coach and not a dad.

“I like that, I love that, but I feel like I’m going to treat somebody in here, or the multitude of you in here like you’re my sons because I love you that much.

“You could have chosen anybody but you chose us, and you chose me, so I’m proud of you.”