Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders: Hall of Fame cornerback, two-time Super Bowl champion, and the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Coach Prime", he played in the NFL for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in MLB with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Quick Facts
- Tenure
- 2000
Lore & Background
Sanders played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, winning the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988. He was selected by the Falcons fifth overall in the 1989 NFL draft. Primarily a cornerback, he received eight Pro Bowl and six first-team All-Pro selections. Sanders also made consecutive Super Bowl appearances in Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers and Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys, winning both. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. After retiring as a player, Sanders pursued a sports analyst and coaching career. He served as the head coach at Jackson State University from 2020 to 2022, leading them to two consecutive Celebration Bowl appearances and the first undefeated regular season in school history. Sanders was named the head football coach of Colorado in 2023.
Reader's Guide
Sanders was born on August 9, 1967, in Fort Myers, Florida, to Connie Sanders and Mims Sanders. His parents divorced when Sanders was two years old. Sanders was raised by his mother and her new husband, Willie Knight. He attended North Fort Myers High School, and was a letterman and All-State honoree in football, basketball and baseball. In 1985, Sanders was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team. The Kansas City Royals selected Sanders in the sixth round of the 1985 MLB draft, but he decided to play with Florida State University instead. On the New Heights podcast, Sanders revealed his first name is spelled "Dion" but he started spelling it "Deion" when learning the nursery rhyme "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" as a child. He enrolled at Florida State University and played three sports: football, baseball, and track. Under head coach Bobby Bowden, Sanders was a third-team All-American in 1986, and a two-time unanimous All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, intercepting 14 passes in his career. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988. He was also a standout punt returner, leading the nation in 1988 with his punt return average. His No. 2 jersey at Florida State was retired in 1995. While playing baseball under head coach Mike Martin at Florida State, Sanders' batting average was .331 in 1986. He also compiled 27 stolen bases in 1987. Sanders had a nine-year, part-time baseball career, playing left and center field in 641 games with four teams. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round of the 1985 draft, but did not sign. The New York Yankees selected Sanders in the 30th round of the 1988 MLB draft, and he signed on June 22. He made his MLB debut on May 31, 1989. During the 1989 season, Sanders hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, becoming the only player ever to do so. Sanders is also the only person to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. He later signed with the Atlanta Braves for the 1991 MLB season.
More in Club History & Eras
Elsewhere in Washington Commanders
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced