NFL icon Deion Sanders declared playing in the MLB was more difficult than the pinnacle of American football - but he loved the ‘challenge’.
Sanders is considered one of the best athletes in sports history after sensationally starring in both the NFL and MLB during his playing days, and he is now thriving as a coach in college. In his first full season, Sanders led HBCU outfit Jackson State to the Southwestern Athletic Conference title with an 11-2 record before securing a move to Colorado, where he will coach in 2023.
The 55-year-old enjoyed a stellar NFL career and is largely believed by many to be the best cornerback in league history. After being selected fifth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, Sanders played for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens.
Sanders was a two-time Super Bowl champion in his career, winning with the 49ers and Cowboys in successive seasons. He was named a First-Team All-Pro on six occasions while he was the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year.
In baseball, Sanders turned out for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. In the 1990s, Sanders was a popular two-sport athlete that excelled in the professional leagues for both American football and baseball.
During an appearance on Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast, Sanders revealed playing MLB was more difficult than in the NFL. He said: “That ball does some things to you.
“Any sport that you can fail seven out of 10 times and become great and make $2-300 million in it, that's a hard sport.”
Sanders suggested it would have been far simpler to stop playing baseball to focus on football, but he wanted to challenge himself. He added: “I love challenges and I could not master it. And it frustrated me because I hate to lose and I hate I'm not mastering something that I know, if I just had more time I could.”
Sanders famously referred to football as his wife whereas baseball was his mistress, but he excelled in both fields. On 5 September 1992, Sanders made history when he became the first professional athlete to score a touchdown in an NFL game and hit a home run in an MLB game on the same day.
Sanders, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, played 14 seasons in the NFL as well as nine seasons in MLB. He retired from professional baseball in 2001, posting a .263 batting average to go with 39 home runs, 168 RBIs and 186 stolen bases.
Known as coach Prime these days due to his iconic ‘Prime Time’ nickname, Sanders will embark on a new challenge at the University of Colorado next season. He was unveiled as the team’s head coach earlier this month after a 27-6 record as JSU over the last three seasons.
