The Many Lives of Deion 'Primetime' Sanders
By: Matthew Rouker 4/29/24
You might know Deion Sanders as the Hall of Fame cornerback, or the speedy outfielder, or maybe you know him as Coach Prime for the Colorado Buffaloes; either way, almost everyone knows him as Primetime.
Deion Sanders was born in Fort Myers, Florida on August 9, 1967. Growing up he only had one sibling, Tracie Sanders, his parents also divorced when he was just a toddler. `In high school, Deion played three sports, Baseball, Basketball, and Football, and excelled at all of them. He earned all-state honors as well as scholarships for them, but when it came time to decide what sports he’d be playing he decided to stay in town and attend Florida State University to play Baseball and Football for the Seminoles.
In football, he returned kicks and played cornerback, in baseball he played outfield, and after dropping basketball he quickly picked up a new sport, track, where he helped lead his team to a conference championship. In his senior football seaso he not only earned his second All-American, but he also won the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s best defensive back. It was clear which sport Deion was best at, so expecting Deion to drop baseball, the Atlanta Falcons drafted him fifth overall. But Deion had other ideas.
Deion was signed by the Yankees to play for their Triple-A team the Columbus Clippers in 1989. He was called up to the Majors and hit his first home run on September 5, 5 days later he returned his first punt for a touchdown, this made him the first person to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same week. This was just the beginning of Deion’s fame.
While the personality of Primetime fit the sport of football well, the ‘gentleman’ sport of baseball didn’t appreciate his pride as much. On May 22, 1990, Deion’s pride seemed to frustrate 42-year-old Carlton Fisker, when Deion drew a dollar sign in the dirt Fisker began to get annoyed. When Deion said in response to a question, “Hey, man, the days of slavery are over,” Fisker’s anger boiled over and they got into a fight. Two years later when announcer Tim McCarver criticized Deion for trying to play in an MLB game and an NFL game in the same day, Deion dumped two full buckets of water on McCarver.
Sanders would be cut from the Yankees in 1990 because of poor performance, after which the Atlanta Braves would sign him, which means he was playing for the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves at the same time. He experienced his greatest success during this period, where in 1992 (according to baseball-reference) he batted .304 and stole 14 bases. In the postseason the Braves made it to the World Series where he batted .533. His next few seasons were fairly good, but none were as impressive as his 1992 season.
While Deion’s baseball career wasn’t super extraordinary, his football career was nothing but. In his rookie season, and according to pro-football reference, he sniped five interceptions and he returned an aforementioned punt for a touchdown. Despite this great rookie season, he didn’t win any awards. Next season though wasn’t quite as good, once again he didn’t win any awards, he only had 3 interceptions, but he did maintain his great kick-returning ability with another punt returned for a touchdown. Throughout the next three seasons though, Deion was amazing. He had sixteen interceptions, earned two first-team All-Pros, and came in third for Defensive Player of the Year in his last season with Atlanta. After his first five seasons with Atlanta, he signed with the 49ers where his team won the Super Bowl. He individually won DPOY, earned a first-team All-Pro, and even came in third for MVP voting, no defensive player has won MVP since 1986.
In 1995 he signed an extension with the Dallas Cowboys where in his first season he suffered an injury and was only able to play nine games. In the following season, Dallas tested him out at wide receiver where he surprisingly put up decent numbers, 36 receptions, 475 yards, and a touchdown. This is one of the very few seasons where any player played on all three sides of the ball, offense, defense, and special teams as a kick returner. In each that season and the next two he earned First-Team All-Pros. His last season in Dallas was towards the end of his Prime, and he earned his last award, a Second-Team All-Pro. After Dallas, he signed a one-year extension with the team currently known as the Washington Commanders. He had a decent season, but nothing notable. He retired from Football in 2001 where he’d return to play his final season of Baseball. After that final season, he would retire from sports altogether… Until he returned to Play two final seasons for the Baltimore Ravens at age 37 and 38. He didn’t earn any accolades, but he did put up solid numbers. After those final two seasons, he finally retired for good.
After retiring, he became a coach for the FCS college Jackson State University, in 2021 he led the team to 11 wins, a conference championship, and a Celebration Bowl appearance. His son Shadeur also played quarterback for the team and threw 30 touchdowns. Deion earned FCS National Coach of the Year and after that great first season Jackson State was able to land Five-star recruit Travis Hunter, he became the first five-star to sign with an FCS team. In 2022 Jackson State won 12 games and Deion moved on from that small school to the Colorado Buffaloes. His son Shadeur and Travis Hunter both transferred to Colorado and in 2023 the team experienced an up-and-down season. They started the year with an upset win and won their next two, but afterward, the team lost 8 of its last 9 games and didn’t earn a bowl game appearance.
Deion Sanders played two sports professionally and coached another as well. Every time Deion was challenged he succeeded, and he continues to impress.