"Blew my mind": $45M-worth Deion Sanders opens up on impactful Atlanta trip

Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime, had a prolific college career and was one of the most exciting prospects in the 1989 NFL draft. However, before the draft started, he told several teams that he was not interested in going to their team. He wanted to be selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the fifth pick, and that is what happened.

On Wednesday, Deion Sanders, who is worth $45 million as per Celebrity Net Worth, sat down for an interview with "Reach The People Media." In the interview, Sanders spoke about his experience in Atlanta before that draft that made him want to go there to start his NFL career:

"Fifth pick was Atlanta. When I was All-American my senior year, they took us on this All-American trip. We went to Atlanta and it blew my mind. I had never seen African American people so influential and had means and wealth. Blew my mind. Black doctors, black lawyers, black policemen. I ain't never seen nothing like that coming from Florida."

"It was crazy. So I made up my mind right then that summer, this is where I want to go. It's the chocolate city. I don't know if any of you have been to Atlanta, but it's mighty black. So, I was good with that. I told the other teams not to draft me, I want to go to Atlanta, and that's how that happened."

Deion Sanders went on to play five seasons with the Falcons before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994. He then went to the Dallas Cowboys from 1995 to 1999, where he won two Super Bowls.

Deion Sanders' sons are now entering the NFL draft

It has been over 35 years since Deion Sanders entered the draft, and now he gets to relive it to an extent as two of his sons are entering the 2025 NFL draft. QB Shedeur Sanders will get an experience similar to his father as he is projected to be a top-five pick. Safety Shilo Sanders is expected to be a late-round pick if he is drafted at all.

Like his father, Shedeur Sanders has a personality that not everyone agrees with. Sanders reportedly came off as brash and arrogant at the NFL Combine to some teams. It is unclear whether this was a tactic imposed by the Sanders family to ensure Shedeur gets drafted by a team they prefer like the New York Giants.