Deion Sanders

Deion Luwynn Sanders (born August 9, 1967 in Fort Myers, Florida) is a former National Football League cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, and is currently an NFL Network commentator. He was listed at a height of 6'1 and weighed 195 lbs. He carries the nicknames "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion."

Sanders is considered one of the greatest cover cornerbacks ever. He played for the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Ravens, winning the Super Bowl with the 49ers and Cowboys. In Major League Baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants. His college career was at Florida State University, where he excelled in both football and baseball.

In April 2006 he became a partial owner of the Austin Wranglers, an Arena Football League team based in Austin, Texas. Sanders also works for the NFL Network, appearing on the Sunday night highlights show NFL GameDay and NFL Total Access.

High School

Sanders attended North Fort Myers High School in North Fort Myers, Florida, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-State honoree in all three sports. 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 of Florida's history.

College Career

Sanders was a star in three sports for the Florida State Seminoles, participating in football, baseball, and track. Beginning his freshman year, he started in the Seminoles' secondary, played outfield for the baseball team that finished fifth in the nation, and helped lead the track and field team to a conference championship.

At Florida State University, under head coach Bobby Bowden, Sanders was a two time consensus All-American cornerback in 1986 and 1987, and a third team All-American in 1988, intercepting 14 passes in his career, including three in bowl games, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He won the Jim Thorpe Award 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. His jersey at Florida State, #2, was retired in 1995. Sanders helped seal the 1988 Sugar Bowl for the Seminoles by picking off an Auburn pass in the last seconds.

While playing baseball under head coach Mike Martin, at Florida State, Sanders hit .331 in 1986; he was known more for base stealing, swiping 27 bags in 1987. Sanders would go on to be drafted while in college by the New York Yankees (He also was selected by the Kansas City Royals out of North Fort Myers High School, though he did not sign.)

On one occasion, Sanders played the first game of a baseball doubleheader, ran a leg of a 4x100 relay, then returned to play another baseball game.

MLB Career

Sanders played a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing 641 games with 4 teams. He was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1985 draft, but did not sign with team. He was drafted again in 30th round of the 1989 draft by the New York Yankees and signed with team on June 22.

During his most productive year, 1992, he hit .304 for the Braves, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. During the 1989 season, he hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, the only player to do so. Sanders is the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. On July 31 of the 1991 MLB season, Sanders hit a key three-run homer to spark a comeback win against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Braves' improbable run to the National League West Division 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, Sanders reworked his NFL deal whereby he still reported to the Falcons for training camp in September, but was allowed to rejoin the Braves for the postseason. In four games of the 1992 World Series, Sanders batted .533 with 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles, and 1 RBI while playing with a broken bone in his foot. Despite Sanders's performance, he and his Braves ultimately lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games. In game 3, he also narrowly avoided being a victim of what would have been only the 2nd triple play in WS history (the only one being Bill Wambsganss' unassisted in 1920), when umpire Bob Davidson called him safe at second base on Kelly Gruber's tag, despite TV replays showing that the tag actually did beat him. (The other two outs were Devon White's memorable catch of a David Justice flyball and Terry Pendleton passing Sanders.)

In 1997, Sanders finished 2nd in the NL with 56 stolen bases in 115 games while with the Cincinnati Reds before leaving baseball for three years. After retiring from the NFL after the 2000 season, Sanders returned to the Reds in 2001, playing in 32 games before retiring from baseball for good.


NFL Career
Atlanta Falcons

Sanders's professional football career started the same year as his baseball career, 1989. He was the fifth pick overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he played until 1993. On Sanders' first career punt return, he returned it for a touchdown. During his time there, 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). Over his five years with the Falcons, Sanders found his way to the end zone ten times (three defensive, three kick returns, two punt returns, and two receptions).


San Francisco 49ers

After five seasons Sanders signed on to play one season with the San Francisco 49ers, where 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. On October 16, 1994, Deion was the big story as he made his dramatic return to the Georgia Dome in a 49er uniform. After getting into a scuffle with his former Falcon teammate Andre Rison, Sanders intercepted a pass from quarterback Jeff George and proceeded to return it 93 yards while mockingly staring down the entire Falcons sideline before high-stepping into the end zone. Sanders was later voted the 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and recorded an interception in the 49ers 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.

After the season, Jerry Rice and Sanders publicly feuded - Rice fumed at the idea that the media felt Sanders was the missing link to the 49ers Super Bowl run and that it was not giving credit to the other 52 men in the locker room. This ultimately resulted in Sanders feeling unappreciated by the 49ers organization and he opted to leave the team.


Dallas Cowboys

After his public dispute with Jerry Rice and not feeling valued with 49ers, Sanders with his agent Eugene Parker, proceeded to court numerous teams in need of an All-Pro cornerback. Several teams in the "Deion sweepstakes," as it was coined by the media that year, were the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, and the Dallas Cowboys who lost their starting cornerback Kevin Smith to injury for the rest of the season.

On September 9, 1995, Sanders signed a lucrative contract with the Dallas Cowboys (seven years, $35 million with a $12.99 million signing bonus), 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 because of his friendship with Cowboys' wide receiver Michael Irvin, more time on the offensive side of the ball, and a chance to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Arthroscopic surgery kept him sidelined until his debut in Week 9, once again, against the Atlanta Falcons, only this time, Sanders debut with his new team was not as dramatic as it was with the 49ers. He later went on to help the Cowboys win their third Super Bowl title in four years with a win 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' first touchdown of the game and a 27-17 victory. He is the only player in NFL history to catch a pass and make an interception in the Super Bowl. At the trophy presentation, Sanders stated, "I didn't even get to hold the trophy last year" in regards to his previous employer in San Francisco. Sanders proceeded to play 4 more seasons with Dallas earning Pro Bowl berths in all of them, although the Cowboys only won one playoff game (1996 against the Minnesota Vikings) in that time.


Washington Redskins

After five seasons with the Cowboys, new Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder pursued Sanders along with other high priced free agents Mark Carrier and Bruce Smith. Sanders played one season with the Redskins, having four interceptions before retiring in 2001. Late in the 2002 NFL season Sanders contemplated a return to the NFL, specifically to the Oakland Raiders. With his rights still the property of the Redskins, he lobbied and received his release from the team and was waived. The San Diego Chargers claimed Sanders' rights and placed him on their Reserve-Retired List. Sanders opted to stay retired.


Baltimore Ravens

In 2004, lured back to football by Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller, linebacker Ray Lewis and best friend Joe Zorovich, Sanders announced that he was going to end his retirement. He signed a 1-year deal reportedly worth $1.5 million with the Baltimore Ravens to be a nickelback. 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 for an NFL player (additionally, the number 21 used by Sanders throughout his career, was already in use on the Ravens by Pro-Bowler Chris McAlister). On October 24, Sanders scored his ninth career touchdown on an interception return against the Buffalo Bills, moving him into a tie for second place with Ken Houston and Aeneas Williams behind Rod Woodson (12) all-time in that category. In January 2006, Sanders once again retired from the NFL, becoming an analyst for the NFL Network.

Deion Sanders #21
Cornerback