Before Jake Paul and KSI ventured into the world of energy drinks, there was only one man who was synonymous with the word ‘Prime’. Deion Sanders has been elite on all the fields and courts that he has touched but his impact has surely been larger than the realm of sports. How did he get from being the son of a divorced couple to becoming a legend in multiple sports? Let’s unpack his story.

Deion Sanders Early Life

Connie and Mims Sanders had Deion back on the 9th of August in 1967. The two adults had a rocky relationship which led to them splitting up just about two years after the birth of their son. Connie was the one who kept his son after the split and they both moved on. They did not move too far from where the young legend was born as Deion grew up in Fort Myers, Florida. It was all the little kid knew as he attended high school in the area too.

Connie ended up remarrying as her relationship with Willie Knight became more serious. Eventually, Deion welcomed his new stepfather into his life with open arms. The two had a very deep relationship as Willie influenced him to try out basketball, baseball, and football. A lot of athletes would just choose one of those three and run with it but this kid was different. He was an All-American in all three of those sports.

The dilemma of being a multisport legend started kicking in after he finished high school. Deion was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century team back in 1985. In the same summer, the Kansas City Royals also selected him in the sixth round of the MLB Draft. There was a decision that needed to be made.

Deion Sanders College Career at FSU

Deion was adamant that he was going to college at Florida State. It was a unique school that gave him the opportunity to play in their football, track, and baseball programs. One would think that this would be where two sports took a backseat so that he would thrive but it was not the case.

Coach Bobby Bowden’s schemes allowed him to thrive in the Florida State secondary. In just 11 games and four starts during his freshman year, Deion registered 42 total tackles with 22 of them being solo takedowns alongside an interception. This was enough to get him the starting job the following year.

Throughout the next three years of his college football career, Deion notched the school record for the longest pick-six, logged the highest punt return average at Florida State, became a two-time All-American, and won the Jim Thorpe award. It was very clear that Coach Bowden’s perception of what a good defender got reshaped by Deion.

For Coach Mike Martin, he had one of the best sluggers in all of college baseball. Deion was typically an outfielder too and his plays for the Seminoles were quite exceptional. He ended his college run while slashing .331 and reached a peak of 27 stolen bases in one season. Florida State was a top-five baseball team in all of the land because of his talents and would win the conference title.

Remember his decision to play track too? Well, he was also exceptional there as well. Florida State became the overall conference champion during the year he participated in the 4x100. An insane story to come out of this was that Deion played the conference semifinal, ran the relay, and went back for the conference championship game all on the same day. Despite not placing in the relay race, the Seminoles got his help to win the conference in both baseball and track in a span of just hours.

Deion Sanders MLB and NFL Career

Prime was already slated to become a baseball player after he got drafted out of high school but his insane display of talents in college were enough for an NFL squad to take a chance on him. He ended up getting selected fifth overall in the 1989 draft after recording an insane 4.27 on the 40-yard dash. The Atlanta Falcons were the ones who gave him an opportunity and he stayed there up until his rookie contract was up. Throughout 1989 to 1993, he got a lot of accolades. The most notable of which was when he led the league with two kick return touchdowns, kickoff yards per return by logging in 26.7 each time, and kickoff return yards when he notched an eye-popping 1,067 for the squad.

One would think that he focused on football because he was becoming a star in the NFL and playing for two cities would be hard. However, Deion was also the exception in these stories. He ended up playing for the New York Yankees and their minor league affiliate from 1989 to 1990 before eventually moving to the Atlanta Braves such that he was much closer to his football team in 1991. In fact, he hit a homerun and notched a touchdown in the same week during his rookie year. Moreover, Deion is also the only player to have ever played in both the Super Bowl and World Series.

From the years 1989 up to 1997, Deion was playing football whenever there were no baseball games where he would get called up. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants throughout that time. His journey in the NFL was the one which sent him to become a journeyman because he ended up playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins. Even the Los Angeles Chargers claimed him off waivers on Christmas Day of 2001 but they were not able to field him. It was very clear that he was going to retire.

Retirement did not look bad at this point in his career too. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1994, became an All-Pro First-Team selection six times, was a Second-Team All-Pro honoree twice, and got the Pro Bowl nod eight times. To top it all off, he won two Super Bowls.

Prime Time did not stop there, though. He went back to the MLB in 2001 after re-negotiating his contract. However, his numbers were not just good enough for the Reds anymore. Deion only batted a measly .173 in a span 32 games before getting released but this did not mean the end for his playing career at all. He gave football one more shot and joined the Baltimore Ravens for the 2004 season. Corey Fuller and Ray Lewis were the ones who urged him to join which meant that Prime could not say no. Despite playing two full seasons with them, the Ravens just could not match up well with the other teams in the league and failed to make the playoffs. It was very clear that nickelback was not his top role, he was getting old, and retirement was going to be for good this time around. True enough, he decided to call it a career back in January 2006.

Deion Sanders Start In Coaching

Deion was then hired as an analyst for the NFL but ventured into coaching in 2012. He had stints with Prime Prep Academy, Triple A Academy, and Trinity Christian High School. Prime took things a little bit more seriously in the latter school as this is where Deion Jr, Shilo, and Shedeur attended. 

His high school coaching run was not the most successful as he only got 17 wins out of 38 games while being the head coach. But, his 2013 conference title run with Prime Prep was enough for Jackson State to offer him a job as their head honcho.

With Coach Prime at the helm, no one was stopping the Tigers from dominating the SWAC. They finished second in the East during the COVID-19 year but made a big comeback in the next two seasons. Jackson State dropped only three games in the next two years of their regular season campaigns. This led them to the top of the SWAC East but they would eventually lose both Celebration Bowls, failing to give the school any hardware.

Deion Sanders Net Worth and Endorsements

The Buffaloes at Boulder have become synonymous to the ‘Sanders’ surname. It is largely because this was Deion’s next stop in his coaching career. Not to mention, both Shedeur and Shilo ended up joining him on the team. They struggled mightily because of a massive exodus when Coach Prime entered and their 4-8 record in 2023 was reflective of this.

However, things started to turn around in their second season. As of the moment, Colorado has won four out of their five games and has not lost two of their Pac-12 battles. Things are starting to make a turn for the better and his expanding net worth is a big sign too.

Deion currently has a five-year deal with Colorado and it is valued at $29.5 million. His baseball earnings of $13 million, football income of $45 million, and the countless brand endorsements he has with the likes of Pepsi, Sega, and Nike all add up to an insane net worth valuation of $45 million. (Read More)

Deion Sanders Accolades

Championships As a Coach

• 2× SWAC (2021, 2022)
• 2× SWAC East (2021, 2022)

Championships As a Player

• 2× Super Bowl (XXIX, XXX)

Awards As a Coach

• SI Sportsman of the Year (2023)
• Eddie Robinson Award (2021)
• 2× SWAC Coach of the Year (2021, 2022)

Awards As a player

• NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1994)
• 6× First-team All-Pro (1992–1994, 1996–1998)
• 2× Second-team All-Pro (1991, 1999)
• 8× Pro Bowl (1991–1994, 1996–1999)
• NFL kickoff return yards leader (1992)
• NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
• NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (1989)
• Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor
• Jim Thorpe Award (1988)
• 2× Unanimous All-American (1987, 1988)
• Third-team All-American (1986)
• Florida State Seminoles Jersey No. 2 honored