Deion Sanders is arguably the greatest cornerback to ever do it in the NFL, statistically and financially, especially when considering his influence on football culture off the field.
Sanders — a two-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time Pro Bowler — was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2011. His many accomplishments on the field only tell half the story when judging his prolific career.
Sanders reinvented the cornerback position by channeling his inner diva.
‘I Was A Millionaire at 21’, Says Deion Sanders
Sanders has been very vocal in his son Shedeur’s public relations campaign ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. He has been mentoring him on how to attack the interview process while sharing his own personal experiences dealing with NFL front-office executives.
One point of emphasis in that training has centered on Shedeur respecting his elders, namely his uber-famous father, who was a millionaire at 21. Deion’s advice came disguised as a cautionary tale.
“I was a millionaire at 21,” Deion told Shedeur. “I was a pro. See, the difference is, I played three sports in college (football, baseball, and track and field). I just wanted you to know who you’re talking to because sometimes you forget. You think you’re just talking to dad.”
Before becoming the head football coach at Colorado — and long before he first lined up at cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons — Sanders was a three-sport athlete at Florida State.
View this post on Instagram
He ran the 100-meter leg for the school’s 400-meter relay team, then played outfield for the Seminoles’ baseball team. One time, he used an extended break between a baseball double-header to play both sports on the same day.
Sanders’ biggest impact was on the gridiron, serving as a starting cornerback and punt returner at Florida State. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 1988, finishing in eighth place with 22 votes. Barry Sanders won the coveted award that year with 1,878 total votes.
Two-Sports Professional Athlete: Football and Baseball
Sanders parlayed his brilliant college career into a dynamic professional one. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round (149th pick) of the 1985 MLB Draft. Upon being offered a $40,000 deal, the two-sport athlete decided to enroll at Florida State and pursue his football dreams. Baseball could wait.
“The funny thing is,” then-Royals scouting director Art Stewart told MLB.com, “if he had signed with us, and we had developed him, I think he would have been a helluva baseball player. He had all the tools.”
Despite missing about 40% of the season in ‘92, Deion Sanders STILL led the league in triples with 14. pic.twitter.com/RJMpxSmwpJ
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) March 4, 2025
Four years later, Sanders went on to play for the New York Yankees while embroiled in a contract dispute with the Atlanta Falcons. He stuck around in the majors and sported a .263 batting average with 39 home runs, 168 RBIs, and 186 stolen bases over nine MLB seasons. In 1989, Sanders became the only player to hit a home run and score a touchdown during the same week.