Deion Sanders won two Super Bowl titles and made a World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
92 Facts About Deion Sanders
2.
Deion Sanders played college football at Florida State University, winning the Jim Thorpe Award as a senior.
3.
Deion Sanders was selected by the Falcons fifth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft and played football primarily at cornerback, while making appearances as kickoff returner, punt returner, and wide receiver.
4.
Deion Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
5.
Deion Sanders served as the head football coach at the Jackson State University from 2020 to 2022, leading the team to two consecutive Celebration Bowl appearances and the first undefeated regular season in school history.
6.
Deion Sanders's parents divorced when Sanders was two years old.
7.
Deion Sanders was raised by his mother and her new husband, Willie Knight, whom Deion Sanders credits with being influential in his life.
8.
Deion Sanders attended North Fort Myers High School, and was a letterman and All-State honoree in football, basketball and baseball.
9.
In 1985, Deion 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.
10.
Deion Sanders enrolled at Florida State University and played three sports for the Florida State Seminoles: football, baseball, and track.
11.
Under head coach Bobby Bowden, Deion Sanders was a two-time consensus All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, and a third-team All-American in 1986, intercepting 14 passes in his career, including three in bowl games, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a touchdown, breaking Fred Biletnikoff's interception return record by one yard.
12.
Deion Sanders was 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.
13.
Deion Sanders 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.
14.
Bowden would later state that Deion Sanders was his "measuring stick for athletic ability".
15.
Deion Sanders had a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing left and center field in 641 games with four teams.
16.
Deion Sanders was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the 1985 draft, but did not sign with them.
17.
Deion Sanders opened the 1989 season with the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League.
18.
Deion Sanders is the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
19.
Deion Sanders made the Yankees' Opening Day roster for the 1990 season.
20.
On May 22,1990, Deion Sanders became involved in a dispute with Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk.
21.
Deion 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.
22.
The Yankee fans booed, and Fisk told Deion Sanders to run the ball out and called Deion Sanders a "piece of shit".
23.
Later in the game, Deion Sanders told Fisk that "the days of slavery are over".
24.
Deion Sanders later signed with the Atlanta Braves for the 1991 MLB season.
25.
Deion Sanders was sent to the San Francisco Giants in an eight-player trade on July 21,1995.
26.
In 1997, Deion Sanders finished second in the NL with 56 stolen bases in 115 games while with the Cincinnati Reds before leaving baseball for three years.
27.
Deion Sanders returned to the Reds in 2001, but was released after playing in only 29 games and batting just.
28.
Since he was not then on an MLB roster, Deion Sanders had to leave Syracuse and return to the Redskins so he would not violate his NFL contract.
29.
At the 1989 NFL Scouting Combine, Deion Sanders ran a 3.90 and 3.49 second 40-yard dash.
30.
Deion Sanders was the fifth pick overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he played until 1993.
31.
On October 11,1992, Deion 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.
32.
Deion Sanders, however did not appear in the baseball game that night.
33.
Deion Sanders is the only Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee from his draft's top five picks to not spend his entire career with the team that selected him.
34.
Deion Sanders arguably had his best season as a professional football player, recording six interceptions and returning them for an NFL-best 303 yards and three touchdowns, as well as an astounding average of 50.5 yards per return.
35.
On October 16,1994, Deion Sanders made his dramatic return to the Georgia Dome in a 49er uniform.
36.
Deion Sanders was later voted the 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
37.
Deion Sanders played four more seasons with Dallas, earning Pro Bowl selection in all of them.
38.
In 2004, Deion Sanders announced his intention to come out of retirement after being convinced by his friend Joe Zorovich, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller, and linebacker Ray Lewis to play.
39.
Deion Sanders signed a one-year deal with the Ravens to be a nickelback.
40.
Deion 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.
41.
Deion Sanders stayed as the head coach for 2012 and 2013.
42.
On September 21,2020, Deion Sanders became the 21st head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, a team in the second level of NCAA football, the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, that represents the historically black Jackson State University.
43.
Deion Sanders notably flipped the recruitment of defensive back Travis Hunter who was the number one overall recruit in the 2022 class.
44.
On December 3,2022, Deion Sanders was named the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.
45.
Deion Sanders became only the second two-way starter in the NFL since Chuck Bednarik.
46.
Deion 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.
47.
Deion Sanders is one of seven players to win back-to-back Super Bowls with different teams.
48.
Deion Sanders is one of two players to score an NFL touchdown six different ways.
49.
Deion 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.
50.
Deion Sanders's 19 defensive and return touchdowns was an NFL record.
51.
Deion Sanders was selected to eight Pro Bowls and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1994.
52.
On February 6,2011, at Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas, Deion Sanders performed the pre-game coin toss.
53.
Deion 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.
54.
Deion Sanders became known for sporting a "do-rag" or bandana and for high-stepping into the end zone followed by his touchdown dance celebrations.
55.
Deion Sanders, known for his custom-made showy suits and flashy jewelry, frequently capitalized on his image.
56.
On December 26,1994, Deion Sanders released Prime Time, a rap album on MC Hammer's Bust It Records that featured the singles "Must Be the Money" and "Prime Time Keeps on Tickin'".
57.
Deion Sanders performed a medley of songs from Prime Time, including "Must Be the Money" and "Heidi Heidi Hey".
58.
In January 1995, Deion Sanders became the official spokesman of the Sega Sports line of video games.
59.
Deion Sanders has appeared in television commercials for such companies as Nike, Pepsi, Burger King, Pizza Hut and American Express.
60.
Deion Sanders makes a cameo as himself in the film Celtic Pride.
61.
The first was "Primetime and 21st", a mock street corner where Deion Sanders would give his opinions.
62.
Deion Sanders actually debuted as "Deion Sanders Claus" in a set of Nike commercials.
63.
Deion Sanders frequently made guest appearances on ESPN, especially on the ESPN Radio Dallas affiliate, and briefly hosted a show called The New American Sportsman.
64.
Deion Sanders was co-host of the 2004 GMA Dove Awards broadcast, taped in late April 2004, and slated for air on UPN in May 2004.
65.
Deion Sanders has a segment called "Let's Go Primetime" on NFL Network.
66.
Deion Sanders appeared as himself in the fourth season of The League, playing a prospective buyer of Andre's apartment.
67.
In 2014, Deion Sanders was featured in an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls, where he and Grylls hiked in the desert of southern Utah for two days, rappelling down canyon walls and later climbing up a mesa.
68.
Deion Sanders served as an alumni captain for Team Deion Sanders in the 2014 Pro Bowl.
69.
Deion Sanders re-joined CBS Sports as a studio analyst for Thursday games only.
70.
In 2018, Deion Sanders appeared in disguise on Undercover Boss; he met with youth coaches and the less fortunate; it aired on CBS.
71.
Deion Sanders is featured in the docuseries Coach Prime, which follows his career as a college football head coach.
72.
The commercial depicted Deion Sanders suggesting he could still play at a level higher than the rookies in the 2013 NFL Draft and deciding to make a comeback.
73.
Deion Sanders dons an afro, assumes the impromptu alias "Leon Sandcastle" and enters the draft, going through the full NFL Scouting Combine.
74.
Deion Sanders released his debut album in 1994, Prime Time, through Hammer's Bust It Records label via Capitol Records.
75.
In 2003, Deion Sanders took interest in Devin Hester, a return specialist from Miami.
76.
Deion Sanders mentored Hester; he counselled and advised him during his collegiate career.
77.
Deion Sanders tried to adopt a high school running back, Noel Devine, who was one of the top recruits in 2007.
78.
Deion Sanders has been a mentor to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Michael Crabtree, as well as former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, Dez Bryant.
79.
In January 2004, Deion Sanders was hired as an assistant coach to the Dallas Fury, a women's professional basketball team in the National Women's Basketball League, even though Deion Sanders had never played organized basketball either in college or the professional level.
80.
On September 2,2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina, Deion 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.
81.
Deion Sanders has occasionally served as a celebrity spokesperson, such as representing Monitronics which is a security system firm, at an industry conference in the spring of 2010.
82.
Deion Sanders has been married twice: to Carolyn Chambers, with whom he has two children; and Pilar Biggers-Deion Sanders, with whom he has three children.
83.
In 1997, Deion Sanders was going through a dark time in his life when his first marriage was ending.
84.
Deion Sanders attempted suicide by driving his car off of a cliff.
85.
Deion Sanders has made an effort to coach at several different stops.
86.
Deion Sanders's first coaching position in 2012, was with the charter school Prime Prep Academy, which he helped found.
87.
Deion Sanders was later fired as the coach after a school staffer alleged Deion Sanders assaulted the staffer.
88.
In 2015, Deion Sanders was named the CEO of FOCUS Academies and granted the head coaching position at the Triple A academy, where Deion 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.
89.
Deion Sanders served on the staff as offensive coordinator under former Dallas Cowboy Aveion Cason.
90.
Deion Sanders enrolled at Jackson State in January 2021, redshirting the rescheduled spring 2021 season before winning the starting job that summer.
91.
In 2020, Deion Sanders graduated from Talladega College with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis on organizational management.
92.
In 2021, Deion Sanders underwent several foot surgeries and had two toes on his left foot amputated as a result of blood clots.