Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was recently a guest on Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast. On the latest episode, Sanders discussed a variety of topics, from his son Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to his time with the Dallas Cowboys and his final season at Florida State.
Travis Kelce specifically asked Sanders how NIL has changed college athletics and how difficult it can be to navigate. While the Colorado Buffaloes coach didn’t dive into today’s NIL landscape, he told the Kelce brothers he may have been one of the first college athletes to receive a deal, albeit in a unique way.
“I think I may have been the first ever NIL deal,” Sanders said. “Because my junior year I didn’t play baseball at Florida State but I got drafted by the Yankees. So, I accepted professional cash, which allowed me to be a walk-on coming back my senior year of football.”
Sanders explained that he played most of that summer—six weeks—in the Yankees organization, moving from rookie league to Single-A and eventually Triple-A. Then in August, he returned to Florida State’s campus for fall camp heading into his senior season with the Seminoles.
Sanders would later begin his MLB career in 1989 with the Yankees at the big league level, playing 71 games with New York over two years. From 1989 until 1997, and briefly in 2001, he also played for the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.
Deion Sanders Said ‘Prime-Time’ Persona Jumped Off Senior Year at FSU
Being a walk-on at FSU for his last season changed how Sanders carried himself, he said. With the money he earned from the Yankees, his “Prime-Time” persona took on a new life.
“So, since I accepted money from the pros, I was a walk-on. The Yankees paid my scholarship but you couldn’t tell me nothing on campus. You couldn’t tell me nothing,” Sanders laughed.
“I’m a walk-on on campus. I got a neck full of gold, like I’ve got Louis bags… That’s when the ‘Prime’ stuff really jumped off because I had justification.”
Sanders’ “Prime-Time” persona was unlike anything at the time in 1988, his final season with the Seminoles. It was a brand he carried into both professional leagues, the NFL and MLB, and one he still leans on today as Colorado’s Coach Prime.
Colorado’s Deion Sanders Final Year at FSU
Sanders’ final year at Florida State was his best with the program. He finished with a career-high five interceptions, with two returned for touchdowns that season. As a kick returner, he added another score on a punt return, while averaging 15.2 yards per return for a total of 503 yards.
In the 1988 Heisman Trophy race, Sanders finished eighth behind winner Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State. He was awarded the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back and was named a consensus First-Team All-American.
Florida State finished 11-1 in 1988, with its only loss coming to Miami in the season opener. Sanders, meanwhile, capped his college career as one of the greatest players in Seminoles history.
Colorado’s Deion Sanders Explains How Yankees Funded Walk-On Year at FSU