Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American
football coach and former player who is the head coach at the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for 14 seasons with the
Atlanta Falcons,
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, and
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. Sanders was also a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
for nine seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
,
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
,
Cincinnati Reds, and
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
. He won two
Super Bowl titles and made one
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
appearance in
1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Sanders played
college football at
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
, where he won the
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...
as a senior. He was selected by the Falcons fifth overall in the
1989 NFL Draft
The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Ma ...
and played football primarily at
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
, while also making appearances as kick returner, punt returner, and wide receiver. During his career, he was named to eight
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s, received six first-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
s, and made consecutive Super Bowl appearances in
Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers and
Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys, winning both. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
and the
College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
After retiring as a player, Sanders pursued a sports analyst and coaching career. He served as the head football coach at
Jackson State University
Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...
from 2020 to 2022, leading the team to two consecutive
Celebration Bowl
The Celebration Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season, 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athleti ...
appearances and the first undefeated regular season in school history. Near the end of the 2022 season, Sanders was named the head football coach at Colorado.
Early life
Sanders was born in
Fort Myers, Florida to Connie Sanders and Mims Sanders. His parents divorced when Sanders was two years old. Sanders was raised by his mother and her new husband, Willie Knight, whom Sanders credits with being influential in his life. He attended
North Fort Myers High School
North Fort Myers High School (commonly called "North" or "North High") is an American 9-12 high school located in North Fort Myers, Florida. It is the official center for the arts and media for the West Zone in Lee County, Florida, Lee County's Sch ...
in
North Fort Myers
North Fort Myers is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 42,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Ge ...
, and was a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
and All-State honoree in football, basketball and baseball. In 1985, Sanders was named to the
Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state.
The
Kansas City Royals selected Sanders out of North Fort Myers High School in the sixth round of the
1985 Major League Baseball draft
First round draft picks
The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft.
Supplemental First Round Selections
Background
Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...
. However, he did not sign with the Royals.
College career
Sanders enrolled at
Florida State University and played three sports for the
Florida State Seminoles:
football,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, and
track. Beginning his freshman year, he started in the Seminoles' secondary, played
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
for the baseball team that finished fifth in the nation, and helped lead the track and field team to a conference championship.
Under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...
, Sanders was a two-time consensus
All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, and a third-team All-American in 1986,
intercepting
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
14 passes in his career, including three in
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
s, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
breaking
Fred Biletnikoff
Frederick S. Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and ...
's interception return record by one yard. He won the
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...
in 1988. He was also a standout
punt returner for Florida State, leading the nation in 1988 with his
punt return average, and breaking the school's record for career punt return yards. Sanders made an interception with 5 seconds left to seal Florida State's 13–7 win over Auburn in the
1989 Sugar Bowl
The 1989 Sugar Bowl was the 55th Sugar Bowl, edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1988–89 NCAA football bowl games, 1988–89 bowl game seas ...
, during the 1988 postseason. Based on those accolades, his No. 2 jersey at Florida State was retired, in 1995. He finished his career with 126 punt returns for 1,429 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 14 interceptions, returning them for 287 yards and three scores. At the time of his graduation, Sanders's 14 interceptions was the second highest total in school history. Bowden would later state that Sanders was his "measuring stick for athletic ability".
While playing baseball under head coach
Mike Martin at Florida State, Sanders'
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
was .331 in 1986. He also compiled 27 stolen bases in 1987.
On May 16, 1987 (while the Metro Conference baseball and track championships were being played simultaneously in Columbia, South Carolina), Sanders played in the conference semifinal baseball game against Southern Mississippi, ran a leg of a
4 × 100 relay, then returned to play in the baseball championship game against Cincinnati. Though Sanders's relay team did not place in that event, the FSU track team was the overall conference champion, and the baseball team won the conference title as well.
Professional baseball career
Drafts and minor leagues
Sanders played a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing left and center field in 641 games with four teams.
He was originally drafted by the
Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the
1985 draft, but did not sign with them. The
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
selected Sanders in the 30th round of the
1988 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed with the team on June 22. He batted .284 in 28 minor league games after signing.
[
The Yankees invited Sanders to spring training in 1989. Assigned to wear No. 71 as a ]uniform number
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...
, Sanders requested a single digit number. The Yankees gave him No. 30, the lowest number available, which offended many veteran players on the team. Sanders opened the 1989 season with the Albany-Colonie Yankees
The Albany-Colonie Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Eastern League from 1983 to 1994. They were located in Colonie, New York, and played their home games at Heritage Park. The team was known as the Albany A ...
of the Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
Eastern League. Though Sanders planned to leave the Yankees in July to attend NFL training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
, he became embroiled in a contract dispute with the Falcons, and used the Yankees as leverage.
New York Yankees (1989–1990)
He received a promotion to the major leagues, and spent the summer with the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
International League. Sanders made his MLB debut on May 31, 1989.
During the 1989 season, he hit a major league home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, becoming the only player ever to do so. Sanders is also the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. Sanders and Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
were the preeminent multi-sport athletes of their time, but prior to the 1990 season, they had never squared off against each other in a professional game. That changed in 1990, when Jackson and Sanders met five times on the diamond — the most memorable of which came on July 17, in what was billed as "The Bo and Prime Time Show". After Bo Jackson's three-homer night, Sanders said, "He's (Bo's) one of the best athletes who ever put on a uniform."
Sanders made the Yankees' Opening Day roster for the 1990 season. On May 22, 1990, Sanders became involved in a dispute with Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
Carlton Fisk. Sanders started by stepping up to the plate with one out and a runner on third, drawing a dollar sign in the dirt before the pitch and then failed to run to first base after hitting a routine pop fly to shortstop, trotting back to the dugout instead. The Yankee fans booed, and Fisk told Sanders to "run the fucking ball out" and called Sanders a "piece of shit." Later in the game, Sanders told Fisk that "the days of slavery are over." Fisk was furious. "He comes up and wants to make it a racial issue, there's no racial issue involved. There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game."[Kass, John]
When it comes to heart, truth hurts Sanders
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
''. January 30, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.[Donnelly, Joe]
Fisk's Outburst at Sanders Was One for Yankee Pride
'' Newsday''. May 24, 1990. Retrieved August 11, 2011.[Forum Clip: "Carlton Fisk on Deion Sanders"]
. The Forum Channel. February 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
By mid-July, Sanders expressed that he was unsure if he would remain with the Yankees or report to training camp for the upcoming NFL season. He requested a $1 million salary for the 1991 season, and the Yankees ended negotiations on a contract extension with Sanders. He left the team, finishing the 1990 season with a .158 batting average and three home runs in 57 games. In September 1990, the Yankees placed Sanders on waivers with the intention of giving him his release, as Yankees' general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Gene Michael
Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...
said that Sanders's football career was stunting his baseball development.
Atlanta Braves (1991–1994)
Sanders later signed with the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
for the 1991 MLB season
The 1991 Major League Baseball season saw the Minnesota Twins defeat the Atlanta Braves for the World Series title, in a series where every game was won by the home team.
Awards and honors
* Baseball Hall of Fame
**Rod Carew
**Ferguson Jenkins
...
. On July 31, Sanders hit a key three-run homer to spark a comeback win against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Braves' run to the National League West Division
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...
title. However, he had to leave the Braves the very next day to report to the Atlanta Falcons because of a clause in his NFL contract and missed the postseason. Before the 1992 season
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
, Sanders reworked his NFL deal, whereby he still reported to the Falcons for training camp in August, but was allowed to rejoin the Braves for the postseason.
During the 1992 season
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
, his best year in the majors, Sanders hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
.304 for the team, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. In four games of the 1992 World Series
The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the Na ...
, Sanders batted .533 with four runs, eight hits, two doubles, and one RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. His batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...
and win probability added
Win probability added (WPA) is a sport statistic which attempts to measure a player's contribution to a win by figuring the factor by which each specific play made by that player has altered the outcome of a game. It is used for baseball and Americ ...
each led the team in the series. Despite Sanders's performance, the Braves ultimately lost to the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
in six games. In Game 3, he narrowly avoided being a victim of what would have been only the second triple play in World Series history (following Bill Wambsganss
William Adolf Wambsganss (March 19, 1894 – December 8, 1985) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics. He is best remembered ...
's unassisted triple play in 1920). With Sanders on second base and Terry Pendleton
Terry Lee Pendleton (born July 16, 1960) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas C ...
on first, David Justice hit a deep fly ball to center field that Blue Jays center fielder Devon White unexpectedly caught with a leaping effort. Pendleton passed Sanders on the bases for the second out, but umpire Bob Davidson called Sanders safe after he scampered back to second base. Replays showed that Toronto third baseman Kelly Gruber
Kelly Wayne Gruber (born February 26, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman.
Early life
Gruber was born on February 26, 1962. Gruber played baseball at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, where his number was later retir ...
tagged him on the heel before he returned to second.
Cincinnati Reds (1994–1995)
The Braves traded Sanders to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Roberto Kelly
Roberto Conrado "Gray" Kelly (born October 1, 1964) is a Panamanian baseball manager and former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1982 and went on to play ...
on May 30, 1994. The trade was finalized moments before the Braves and Reds were to play against each other. In 46 games played, Sanders batted .277 and stole 19 bases. The following year, he played in 33 games for the Reds, recording a .240 batting average with 16 stolen bases before being traded to the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
.
San Francisco Giants (1995)
Sanders was sent to the San Francisco Giants in an eight-player trade on July 21, 1995. He batted .280, hit 5 home runs and stole 8 bases in 52 games for the Giants.
Cincinnati Reds (1997, 2001)
In 1997, Sanders finished second in the NL with 56 stolen bases in 115 games while with the Cincinnati Reds before leaving baseball for three years.
Sanders returned to the Reds
Reds may refer to:
General
* Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism
* Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863
* USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...
in 2001, but was released after playing in only 29 games and batting just .173.
Toronto Blue Jays
Following his release from the Reds, he signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. Sanders was hitting .252 for the Syracuse SkyChiefs before the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
found a loophole in his contract which compelled him to return to the Redskins. Sanders's football contract had been negotiated to allow for him to play both baseball and football, but the terms of the contract stated that Sanders could miss NFL training camp and the first few games of the season only if he were playing Major League Baseball. Since he was not then on an MLB roster, Sanders had to leave Syracuse and return to the Redskins so he would not violate his NFL contract. But before arriving at training camp, Sanders informed Redskins personnel he was retiring from professional baseball. In his final professional baseball game, Sanders hit a solo home run and an RBI single in Syracuse's 12–6 win over the Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
. As those in MLB and the NFL urged Sanders to concentrate on only one sport (similar to what they did with Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
), he would often explain, "football is my wife and baseball is my mistress."
Professional football career
Draft and Atlanta Falcons
At the 1989 NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
, Sanders ran a 4.20 and 4.29 second 40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...
. He was the fifth pick overall in the 1989 NFL Draft
The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Ma ...
by the Atlanta Falcons, where he played until 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
. Despite fumbling (and recovering) his first NFL punt return (which was re-kicked on a penalty), Sanders ran for a touchdown on his second attempt of his first game. During his time in Atlanta, he intercepted 24 passes (including a career-high 7 in 1993), three of which he returned for touchdowns. In 1992, he also led the league in kickoff return yards (1,067), yards per return (26.7) and return touchdowns (2). On October 11, 1992, Sanders played in a Falcons game in Miami and then flew to Pittsburgh, hoping to play in the Braves' League Championship Series game against the Pirates that evening and become the first athlete to play in two professional leagues in the same day. Sanders ultimately did not, however, appear in the baseball game that night. Over his five years with the Falcons, Sanders scored ten touchdowns (three defensive, three kick returns, two punt returns, and two receptions). He is the only Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
inductee from his draft's top five picks to not spend his entire career with the team that selected him.
San Francisco 49ers
After five seasons with Atlanta, Sanders signed on to play the 1994 season with the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
. He had arguably his best season as a professional football player, recording six interceptions and returning them for an NFL-best 303 yards and three touchdowns. It was also the most interception-return-yardage in a single-season since Charlie McNeil in 1961. Two of his interceptions were returned for a gain of at least 90 yards, making him the first player to do this in NFL history. On October 16, 1994, Sanders made his dramatic return to the Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...
in a 49er uniform. After getting into a scuffle with his former Falcon teammate Andre Rison
Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers ...
, Sanders intercepted a pass from quarterback Jeff George
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
and returned it 93 yards while mockingly staring down the entire Falcons sideline before high-stepping into the end zone. Sanders was later voted the 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
NFL Defensive Player of the Year
Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' and ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. The Associated Press (AP) has been givi ...
. In Super Bowl XXIX, he recorded an end zone interception in the fourth quarter as the 49ers won over the San Diego Chargers, earning him his first championship ring.
Dallas Cowboys
Following his successful season with the 49ers, Sanders, along with his agent Eugene Parker
Eugene Newman Parker (June 10, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American solar and plasma physicist. In the 1950s he proposed the existence of the solar wind and that the magnetic field in the outer Solar System would be in the shape of a Pa ...
, courted numerous teams in need of a cornerback. The several teams in the "Deion Sweepstakes", as it was called by the media, were the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, who had lost their starting cornerback Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...
to injury for the rest of the season.
On September 9, 1995 (which fell in Week 2 of that NFL season), Sanders signed a lucrative contract with the Dallas Cowboys (seven years, $35 million with a $12.999 million signing bonus, because owner Jerry Jones
Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989.
Early life
Jones was born in Los Ange ...
was superstitious about the number 13), essentially making him, at the time, the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Sanders later stated in his book ''Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life'' that the Oakland Raiders offered him more money than any other team, but he chose to play in Dallas for more time on the offensive side of the ball, a chance to win back-to-back Super Bowls, and because of his friendship with Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
. Arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...
kept him sidelined until his debut in Week 9, which was once again in Atlanta against the Falcons; the Cowboys won, 28–13. He went on to help the Cowboys
A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia.
Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford
* ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
win their third title in four years in Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he returned a punt for 11 yards and caught a 47-yard reception on offense, setting up Dallas's first touchdown of the game and a 27–17 victory. Sanders played four more seasons with Dallas, earning Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selection in all of them. On June 2, 2000, he was released in a salary-cap move.
Washington Redskins
Soon after the Cowboys released Sanders, the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
signed Sanders to a seven-year, $56 million contract. At the end of the 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
season and an above-average statistical year, Sanders abruptly retired in July 2001 after only playing one year with the Redskins.
On December 23, 2002, the Redskins waived Sanders from the reserve/retired list in order to potentially allow him to play for the Oakland Raiders in the 2002–03 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2002 season began on January 4, 2003. The postseason tournament concluded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48–21, on January 26, at Qualcomm Stadium ...
. Had he passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have been able to sign a free-agent contract with any team and play during the season. However, on December 25, five teams (the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
), placed waiver bids for him, with the Chargers claiming him by having the highest waiver priority. Since it was too late in the season to be activated from the reserve/retired list, he was unable to play for the Chargers for the rest of the season.
Baltimore Ravens
In 2004, Sanders announced his intention to come out of retirement after being convinced by his friend Joe Zorovich and Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
Corey Fuller
Corey Bushe Fuller (born May 1, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He was the interim head football coach at Florida A&M University in 2014. Fuller was promoted from defensive backs coach to interim head coach after having be ...
and linebacker Ray Lewis
Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played co ...
. He signed a one-year deal with the Ravens to be a nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. It wen ...
. Sanders chose to wear the number 37, which matched his age at the time, to preemptively let people know that he was well aware of his relative senior status as an NFL player (additionally, the number 21, used by Sanders throughout his career, was already being worn by Ravens Pro Bowl cornerback Chris McAlister
Christopher James McAlister (born June 14, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Ar ...
). Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7 of 2004, Sanders scored his ninth career interception return touchdown, moving him into a tie with Ken Houston
Kenneth Ray Houston (born November 12, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...
and Aeneas Williams
Aeneas Demetrius Williams (; born January 29, 1968) is an American former football cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Arizona Cardinals franchise. He played college footba ...
, and behind Rod Woodson
Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He is currently the Head Coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers. Woodson was drafted in the ...
(with 12), for second place all-time in the statistical category.
Sanders played in every game of the 2005 season. The Ravens failed to qualify for the postseason
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
for the second straight year and he retired in January 2006.
NFL career statistics
Defensive/Special team statistics
Offensive statistics
Coaching career
High school
While continuing to work as an NFL analyst, Sanders became the head coach for the Prime Prep Academy which he co-founded. He stayed as the head coach for 2012 and 2013. In 2015, he was hired as the head coach for Triple A Academy where he was the coach for two seasons. In 2017, he became the offensive coordinator for Trinity Christian High School giving him the opportunity to coach his sons Shilo and Shedeur. He stayed there until 2020.
Jackson State
On September 21, 2020, Deion Sanders became the 21st head coach of the Jackson State Tigers
The Jackson State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.
Conference affiliation
Jackson State University's athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Confe ...
, a team in the second level of NCAA football, the Division I Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was kn ...
(FCS), that represents the historically black (HBCU) Jackson State University
Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...
.
In his first season in spring 2021, abbreviated and delayed from its normally intended fall 2020 schedule due to COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
disruptions, he led the Tigers to a 4–3 record, with one win by forfeit. In the fall 2021 season, Sanders led the Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title and a program record of 11 wins, also being named the recipient of the fall 2021 Eddie Robinson Award
The Eddie Robinson Award is awarded annually to college football's top head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The award was established by The Sports Network, since merged into Stats Perform, ...
as the season's top FCS head coach.
Sanders notably flipped the recruitment of defensive back Travis Hunter who was the number one overall recruit in the 2022 class. Hunter initially committed to Sanders' alma mater Florida State. The move was heralded by recruiting director Steve Wiltfong; he said it was "the biggest signing day moment in the history of college football" as Football Championship Subdivision programs and the HBCUs that compete at such a level of competition are not usual destinations for high level recruits out of high school. Hunter was the first five star recruit to sign with an FCS program.
Sanders led Jackson State to a 27−6 record during his three seasons at the helm.
Colorado
On December 3, 2022, Sanders was named the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes
The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...
. He will begin coaching full time at the conclusion of the 2022 Jackson State season.
Head coaching record
Legacy and honors
During his 14-year NFL career, Sanders was a perennial All-Pro and one of the strongest pass defenders ever to play the game.
Sanders also occasionally lined up with his team's offense. During the 1996 season, Sanders skipped the baseball season, concentrating on football, and attended the first NFL training camp
In the National Football League, training camp refers to the time before the season commences. During this time, teams sometimes congregate at an outside location, usually a university, to conduct training camp for at least the first few weeks. ...
of his career to better familiarize himself with the nuances of the wide receiver position. He became only the second two-way starter (after the Cardinals' Roy Green
Roy Calvin Green (born June 30, 1957) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played professionally for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1979-1990) and Philadelphia Eagles (1991–1992).
Early life
Gree ...
) in the NFL since Chuck Bednarik.
Sanders is the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, to hit an MLB home run and score an NFL touchdown in the same week, and to have both a reception and an interception in the Super Bowl. He is one of seven players to win back-to-back Super Bowls with different teams. He is also one of two players to score an NFL touchdown six different ways (interception return, punt return, kickoff return, receiving, rushing, and fumble recovery).
During his career, Sanders intercepted 53 passes for 1,331 yards (a 25.1 yards per return average), recovered four fumbles for 15 yards, returned 155 kickoffs for 3,523 yards, gained 2,199 yards on 212 punt returns, and caught 60 passes for 784 yards. Sanders amassed 7,838 all-purpose yards and scored 22 touchdowns, nine interception returns, six punt returns, three kickoff returns, three receiving, and one fumble recovery. His 19 defensive and return touchdowns was an NFL record (now held by Devin Hester
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...
with 20 return touchdowns). In the postseason, Sanders added 5 more interceptions, as well as 3 receptions for 95 yards, 4 carries for 39 yards, and two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving). He was selected to eight Pro Bowls and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' and ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. The Associated Press (AP) has been givi ...
in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
.
* ''College Football News
''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...
'' named Sanders No. 8 in its list of 100 Greatest College Football Players of All-Time.
* ''The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' named Sanders No. 37 in their Top 100 Football Players of the Century released in 1999.
* ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
named Sanders No. 74 in its list of the 100 Great Athletes of the Century released in 1999.
* NFL.com
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
named Sanders No. 34 on NFL's Top 100 list released in late 2010
* NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
named "Deion Sanders and anyone" in their Top 10 greatest cornerback tandems in NFL history: "...Deion Sanders started opposite 13 other cornerbacks, and no matter who started on the other side the defense was better with No. 21 baiting QBs."
* On November 11, 2010, Sanders was inducted into the Atlanta Falcons' Ring of Honor.
* On May 17, 2011, Sanders was announced as a College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
* On August 6, 2011, Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
in his first year of eligibility.
On February 6, 2011, at Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
in Arlington, Texas, Sanders performed the pre-game coin toss.
Sanders did not attend classes or take final exams during the fall semester of his senior year at Florida State, yet played in the Sugar Bowl against Auburn. This caused the Florida State Legislature to create the 'Deion Sanders rule', whereby a football athlete at any state university could not play in a bowl game if he failed to successfully complete the previous semester.
In 1995, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys for a minimum yearly base salary and a nearly $13 million signing bonus in an attempt to circumvent the NFL's salary cap. This caused the NFL to institute its own 'Deion Sanders rule' whereby a prorated portion of a player's signing bonus counted against the salary cap.
Media appearances and pop culture fame
Sanders became known for sporting a "do-rag
A durag ( alternate spellings) is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kink ...
" or bandana and for his high-stepping into the end zone followed by his touchdown dance celebrations.
At the end of his Hall of Fame speech, he put a bandana on his bust.
His "Prime Time" nickname was given to him by a friend and high-school teammate, Florida Gators defensive back Richard Fain. The two played pickup basketball games together during the prime time television hour, and Sanders's athletic display during those games earned him the nickname. His other nicknames are "Lil Nicky" (for comparing himself with NCAA coaching great Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
) and "Neon Deion".
Sanders, known for his custom-made showy suits and flashy jewelry, frequently capitalized on his image. On December 26, 1994, Sanders released '' Prime Time'', a rap album on MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...
's Bust It Records that featured the singles "Must Be the Money" and "Prime Time Keeps on Tickin'". The album and singles didn't chart in the Top 40. Following his first Super Bowl victory with the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, Sanders hosted ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', broadcast on February 18, 1995. Sanders performed a medley of songs from ''Prime Time'', including "Must Be the Money" and "Heidi Heidi Hey".
As Hammer's friend, Sanders appeared in the "2 Legit 2 Quit
"2 Legit 2 Quit" is a song by Hammer featuring Saja (a.k.a. Sonia Moore), released on September 5, 1991 as the first single from his fourth studio album, ''Too Legit to Quit'' (1991).
Music video
The music video was directed by Rupert Wainwrigh ...
" music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
, and his alter-ego "Prime Time" showed up in Hammer's "Pumps and a Bump
"Pumps and a Bump" is a song by Hammer from his 1994 album ''The Funky Headhunter''. The single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and No. 26 on the Hot 100, making it the final Top 40 hit of Hammer's career.
Release and recep ...
" music video. Hammer being a big sports fan, launched a new enterprise during his career called Roll Wit It Entertainment & Sports Management which boasted such clients as Evander Holyfield, Deion Sanders and Reggie Brooks
Reginald Arthur Brooks (born January 19, 1971) is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He is the uncle to Minnesota Vikings Linebacker Anthon ...
. In 1995, Hammer released "Straight to My Feet
"Straight to My Feet" is a single performed by hip-hop artist Hammer that was released as the theme song to the 1994 film ''Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a serie ...
" with Sanders, from the ''Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
(released in December 1994). The song charted No. 57 in the UK.
In January 1995, Sanders became the official spokesman of the Sega Sports
or Sega Sports R&D is a defunct development division of the Japanese video game company Sega. It was previously known as Smilebit, one of nine semi-autonomous studios which Sega established in 2000. Smilebit was previously known as R&D6 or AM6 w ...
line of video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s. Sanders has also appeared in television commercials for such companies as Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi wa ...
, Burger King, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...
and American Express. These included a Road Runner Pepsi ad, with Sanders as the Road Runner with Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episod ...
targeting him, and a Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...
commercial in which he appeared with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989.
Early life
Jones was born in Los Ange ...
. He also makes a cameo as himself in the film ''Celtic Pride
''Celtic Pride'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn, and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It stars Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics fans, and Damon W ...
''.
After retiring from the NFL in 2001, Sanders worked as a pre-game commentator for CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' ''The NFL Today
''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest ne ...
'' until 2004, when contract negotiations failed. Sanders turned down a 30% salary increase demanding to be paid $2.5 million, the highest of any NFL TV analyst. He was replaced by Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he ranks th ...
. During Sanders's run, he participated in several sketches. The first was "Primetime and 21st", a mock street corner where Sanders (not yet a regular panelist) would give his opinions. Another was his "Sanders Claus" persona, one of numerous sketches that involved young kids in football jerseys, representing NFL players, receiving a sarcastic gift from Sanders. Sanders actually debuted as "Sanders Claus" in a set of Nike commercials. Sanders still takes presents at Christmas time to local children's hospitals in his area dressed as "Sanders Claus".
Sanders frequently made guest appearances on ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, especially on the ESPN Radio Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
affiliate, and briefly hosted a show called ''The New American Sportsman''. He also hosted the 2002 Miss USA pageant.
Sanders also was co-host of the 2004 GMA Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...
s broadcast, taped in late April 2004, and slated for air on UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
in May 2004. When negotiations with fellow Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
property CBS failed (see above) two weeks before the broadcast, and he signed a deal with ESPN, UPN promptly canceled the broadcast, and the show aired on the i Network in December 2004 (both UPN and CBS are now owned by CBS Corporation
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and ...
).
Sanders works at NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
as an analyst on a number of the network's shows. Prior to the Sunday night game, Sanders, alongside host Rich Eisen
Richard Eisen (; born June 24, 1969) is an American television sportscaster and radio host. Since 2003, he has worked for NFL Network as a host of various pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. He also hosts a daily sports radio show, ''The Ric ...
and Steve Mariucci
Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...
, breaks down all the action from the afternoon games on ''NFL GameDay''. At the conclusion of all the action on Sunday, Sanders, Mariucci, Michael Irvin and host Fran Charles recap the day's action with highlights, analysis and postgame interviews. For the 2010 season, Sanders joined Eisen, Mariucci and Marshall Faulk on the road for ''Thursday Night Kickoff presented by Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
'', NFL Network's two-hour pregame show leading into ''Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
''. The group broadcasts live from the stadium two hours prior to all eight live ''Thursday Night Football'' games and returns for the Sprint halftime show and Kay Jewelers
Sterling Jewelers, Inc. is an American specialty jewelry company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company was founded in 1910 by Henry Shaw (the father of Jerry Shaw, the chairman emeritus of Sterling today), from LeRoy's Jewelers in Lorain, Oh ...
postgame show. Sanders also has a segment called "Let's Go Primetime" on NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
.
In 2008, Sanders and his wife starred in the reality show '' Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love'', centering on them and their five children living in the small town of Prosper, Texas
Prosper is a town in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Prosper is located within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,423; as of 2020, its population was 30,174.
...
. That same year, he appeared with his family on '' Celebrity Family Feud'' in the July 22, 2008 episode, competing against Bruce
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
and Kris Jenner
Kristen Mary Jenner ( Houghton , formerly Kardashian; born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (2007†...
, Kim
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian
Khloé Alexandra Kardashian (; born June 27, 1984) is an American media personality and socialite. Since 2007, she has starred with her family in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success has led to the cre ...
.
Sanders appeared as himself in the fourth season of ''The League
''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...
'', playing a prospective buyer of Andre's apartment.
In 2014, Sanders was featured in an episode of ''Running Wild with Bear Grylls
''Running Wild with Bear Grylls'' is a survival skills reality television series starring Bear Grylls. In each episode, Grylls brings a different celebrity along on his adventures. The crew consists of host Bear Grylls, a story producer, two cam ...
'', where he and Grylls hiked in the desert of southern Utah for two days, rappelling down canyon walls and later climbing up a mesa.
Sanders served as an alumni captain for Team Sanders in the 2014 Pro Bowl
The 2014 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2013 season. It took place at 2:30 pm local time on January 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was televised nationally by NBC and was the final Pr ...
. He also re-joined CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
as a studio analyst for Thursday games only. He still works for the NFL Network on Sundays.
In 2015, he competed against singer Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
in an episode of Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
's '' Lip Sync Battle'' and won with performances of "Play That Funky Music
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the ...
" by Wild Cherry and " Like a Virgin" by Madonna.
Sanders and his girlfriend Tracey Edmonds
Tracey Elaine Edmonds (née McQuarn; born February 18, 1967) is an American businesswoman, television producer and personality. She is the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc and Alrightnow.com and is a former host of the television show '' E ...
were featured together on an episode of ''Tiny House Nation
''Tiny House Nation'' is an American reality television series. It is a tiny house movement-inspired series which features renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin who assist families around the country building their desired houses th ...
'' that first aired on January 21, 2017.
In 2018, Sanders appeared in disguise
A disguise can be anything which conceals or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and objects. Hats, glasses, ch ...
on ''Undercover Boss
''Undercover Boss'' is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working u ...
'' to meet youth coaches and the less fortunate, which aired on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
.
Leon Sandcastle
Leon Sandcastle is a fictional character, depicted as a disguise for Sanders. The Sandcastle character was created for an NFL Network commercial. Sandcastle first appeared in a Super Bowl commercial in 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. The commercial depicted Sanders suggesting he could still play at a level higher than the rookies in the 2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...
and deciding to make a comeback. He dons an afro
The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...
, assumes the impromptu alias "Leon Sandcastle" and enters the draft, going through the full NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
. For action shots, Ball State cornerback Andre Dawson served as the stunt double
In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
. The commercial features Sandcastle being drafted 1st overall in the draft by the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
. A voiceover then instructs viewers to watch NFL Network for offseason and draft coverage, noting in deadpan
Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
at the end that "the next rookie sensation probably won't be Leon Sandcastle."
Despite not being an actual prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft, several combine videos have been created. The most prominent of these videos is Sandcastle's "4.2 40 yard dash". The NFL also created a "Combine Profile" for Sandcastle, as they do with actual prospects. In Rich Eisen
Richard Eisen (; born June 24, 1969) is an American television sportscaster and radio host. Since 2003, he has worked for NFL Network as a host of various pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. He also hosts a daily sports radio show, ''The Ric ...
's 2013 annual 'Run Rich Run' event, Sandcastle appeared giving tips to Eisen. Sandcastle's combine profile reveals that Sandcastle attended Primetime University.[ The commercial had a positive social media response as "Leon Sandcastle" was trending on ]Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
worldwide, shortly after the commercial's airing. Sandcastle was also put into ''Madden NFL 13
''Madden NFL 13'' is an American football video game based on the National Football League, published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. EA's Chief Creative Officer, Richard Hilleman, said that defense would receive various changes in mechan ...
'' as a card in the 'Ultimate Team' game mode. For April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
, 2013, NFL.com reported that Sandcastle would be the Chiefs' first overall selection.
The character developed marketing value and continued to appear in headlines, such as a fake endorsement deal with Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...
and continued to make other appearance at NFL events. Sandcastle also had football trading cards
A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...
produced and inserted into products by Topps
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...
and Panini America.
Other business and entertainment ventures
In addition to his sports career, Sanders also had a career in music as a rapper. He released his debut album in 1994, '' Prime Time'', through Hammer's Bust It Records label via Capitol Records. In 1995, Hammer released "Straight to My Feet" with Sanders, from the ''Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
(released in December 1994). The song charted No. 57 in the UK.
Sanders moved on to other ventures after his retirement. In 2003, Sanders took interest in Devin Hester
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...
, a return specialist
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
from Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. Sanders mentored Hester, counseling and advising him during various points of his collegiate career. The Chicago Bears drafted Hester in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...
. Since then, Hester has broken the record for the most total returns for touchdowns in NFL history with 15 punt returns and 5 kick off returns. Hester has cited Sanders as one of his major inspirations and idols, and thanked him for his training and advice. Hester, also known as "Anytime", occasionally performs Sanders's signature touchdown dance and high-steps in homage to his mentor.
Sanders also tried to adopt a high school running back, Noel Devine
Noel Devine (born February 16, 1988) is a former American football running back. Devine played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and holds the record for career-all purpose yardage (5,761 yards).
Devine was signed by the Phil ...
, who was one of the top recruits in 2007. Sanders was advised against this, but responded, "He doesn't have parents; they died. God put this young man in my heart. This is not about sports. This is about a kid's life." He now mentors Devine, and was a factor in Devine's extended wait to sign a letter-of-intent to West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
. Devine eventually signed to play football for the Mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbin ...
.
Sanders has also been a mentor to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Michael Crabtree
Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-Am ...
, as well as former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, Dez Bryant
Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...
.
In January 2004, Sanders was hired as an assistant coach to the Dallas Fury
The San Francisco Legacy was the last original franchise of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Originally established in 2001 as the Kansas City Legacy, the franchise moved in 2003 to Knoxville, Tennessee and became the Tennessee Fu ...
, a women's professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
team in the National Women's Basketball League, even though Sanders had never played organized basketball either in college or the professional level.
On September 2, 2005, in response to the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina, Sanders challenged all professional athletes in the four major sports to donate $1,000 each to relief efforts, hoping to raise between $1.5 and $3 million total. Sanders said "Through unity, we can touch thousands....I have friends and relatives that feel this pain. Help in any way you can."
In April 2006, Sanders became an owner of the Austin Wranglers
The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...
, an Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
team.
Sanders has occasionally served as a celebrity spokesperson, such as representing Monitronics
Monitronics International, Inc. (doing business as Brinks Home) is an American company that offers home security systems.
Brink's had a business line in home security named Brinks Home Security that accounted for 15% of Brinks revenue in 2008; i ...
, a security system firm, at an industry conference in the spring of 2010.
In 2012, he co-founded Prime Prep Academy Prime Prep Academy was a grouping of charter schools in Texas cofounded in 2012 by Deion Sanders, a former American football and baseball player (the school's name is derived from his "Prime Time" moniker), who has also coached at the schools. Initi ...
, a grouping of charter schools in Texas. The school was plagued by ethical, legal, and financial issues, and closed on January 30, 2015, due to financial insolvency.
Discography
Personal life
Deion Sanders has been married twice: to Carolyn Chambers (1989–1998), with whom he has two children; and Pilar Biggers-Sanders (1999–2015), with whom he has three children.
Sanders is a Christian. In 1997, Sanders was going through a dark time in his life when his first marriage was ending. "I was going through the trials and tribulations of life. I was pretty much running on fumes. I was empty, no peace, no joy. Losing hope with the progression of everything." He also said that money, sex, and other things did not solve his problems. Sanders attempted suicide by driving his car off of a cliff. However, he survived the 30 to 40 foot drop. Sanders said, "I finally just got on my knees and gave it all to the Lord." He has also said, "Sports is sports, it's a game. My faith is everything."
Sanders, along with J. M. Black, published his autobiography, ''Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life'' (World Publishing, 1998). The book was inspired after he began counseling with Bishop T. D. Jakes. He notes his agent Eugene E. Parker as another person who influenced his life.
Sanders has made an effort to coach at several different stops. His first coaching position, in 2012, was with the charter school Prime Prep Academy, which he helped found. Sanders was later fired as the coach after a school staffer alleged Sanders assaulted the staffer. Sanders denied the claim. In 2015, Sanders was named the CEO of FOCUS Academies and granted the head coaching position at the Triple A academy, where Sanders led them to face his ''alma mater'' North Fort Myers High School in Florida, a game featuring a key matchup between several ranked recruits. On August 17, 2017, it was announced by CBS Sports that Sanders would be switching coaching positions at a new high school to become the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill high school in Cedar Hill, Texas. The move was significant for Sanders, as both his sons played at the high school. Sanders served on the staff as offensive coordinator under former Dallas Cowboy Aveion Cason
Aveion Marquel Cason (born July 12, 1979) is a former American football running back and kick returner in the National Football League for the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Florida Tuskers in th ...
.
Sanders's son Shilo played defensive back for South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
for two seasons before transferring to Jackson State University
Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...
in December 2020. A younger son, Shedeur, is a quarterback who was verbally committed to Florida Atlantic, but flipped his commitment to Jackson State. He enrolled at Jackson State in January 2021, redshirting the rescheduled spring 2021 season before winning the starting job that summer. After leading his father's team to its first SWAC title since 2007 in the fall 2021 season, Shedeur was named that season's recipient of the Jerry Rice Award
The Jerry Rice Award is awarded annually in the United States to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports inf ...
as the top FCS freshman.
In 2020, Sanders graduated from Talladega College
Talladega College is a private historically black college in Talladega, Alabama. It is Alabama's oldest private historically black college and offers 17 degree programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
His ...
with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on organizational management.
In 2021, Sanders underwent several foot surgeries and had two toes on his left foot amputated as a result of blood clots.
See also
* List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
*List of athletes who came out of retirement
In most cases, when a professional athlete announces retirement, he or she retires and then never returns to playing professional sports; however, in rare instances there are some athletes who came out of retirement. The following list shows su ...
*
Explanatory notes
References
External links
*
Jackson State profile
Deion Sanders
a
Glorioustalks
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Deion
1967 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
African-American coaches of American football
African-American players of American football
Albany-Colonie Yankees players
All-American college football players
American amputees
American football cornerbacks
American football return specialists
American football wide receivers
Arena Football League executives
Atlanta Braves players
Atlanta Falcons players
Baltimore Ravens players
Baseball players from Florida
Chattanooga Lookouts players
Christians from Florida
Cincinnati Reds players
Coaches of American football from Florida
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Colorado Buffaloes football coaches
Columbus Clippers players
Dallas Cowboys players
Florida State Seminoles baseball players
Florida State Seminoles football players
Florida State Seminoles men's track and field athletes
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Gulf Coast Yankees players
High school football coaches in Texas
Jackson State Tigers football coaches
Louisville RiverBats players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball left fielders
National Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League announcers
National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners
New York Yankees players
Participants in American reality television series
Players of American football from Florida
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
San Francisco 49ers players
San Francisco Giants players
Sportspeople from Fort Myers, Florida
Syracuse SkyChiefs players
Washington Redskins players