Deion Sanders is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, as part of the 2011 class. Sanders, aka Primetime, was an amazing natural athlete, showing speed and versatility while playing multiple positions in the NFL, and even multiple sports at the professional level.
While primarily a cornerback, he also returned punts and kick-offs and occasionally played wide receiver. He also played baseball part time for nine years, playing over 600 games with four different major league baseball teams while playing full time in the NFL.
Setting aside his versatility, his abilities as a pure cover corner alone would make him worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. He was able to match up one on one with the best receivers in the league and cover them alone. He was the rare player who changed the way the game was played when he was on the field, allowing his team to play defense differently.
Sanders also brought his larger-than-life personality to the game and he is remembered as much for his sound bites, high-stepping touchdown runs and end zone dancing as for his game.
He knew how to leverage pop culture like few other athletes have. As an example, he released a rap album in 1994 entitled Primetime, featuring the hit song “Must Be the Money,” including the classic music video below.
The stories about him are legendary, as much for the way he did things as what he accomplished. In college at Florida State, he “called” a punt return against Auburn. When the 80,000 Auburn fans booed him, he waved his arms as if directing an orchestra, announced to the entire Auburn bench from the field that he was taking the kick to the house, and then did.
In his first year in San Francisco, when the 49ers played his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, he returned a Jeff George interception 93 yards for a touchdown, and slowed down enough to taunt the entire Falcons side line during the return.
On his personality, Sanders long time friend and agent Eugene Parker said to Yahoo Sports, that Sanders “was a quote, sound-bite machine. He was quick-witted and funny. If you’re just sitting around and talking, it’s going to be fun and entertaining.” Asked if there was anyone in the league like Sanders before he arrived, Parker responded, “Not in the NFL… He was the Muhammad Ali of the NFL.”
Perhaps Deion himself said it best, when he said, “You need an escape, a getaway, something to separate your mind from what’s going on. Sometimes your career is about that.” Primetime’s career was definitely about escape, for himself and for the fans.
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