"I was suicidal": Coach Prime makes an astonishing confession as he thanks Kirk Franklin for saving his life

Deion Sanders may have always displayed a confident aura on the football field. Off the field, it was a different story for Coach Prime.

Sanders, now the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, posted a video on his Instagram account of a conversation with gospel singer Kirk Franklin. On it, Coach Prime shared a shocking story from his past.

“I was suicidal. And I’m driving my car off a highway to go to commit suicide and I’m listening to ‘Conqueror’. It was like doublemindedness at its finest hour. And slowly but surely it didn’t work because God kept me when I ran my off the side of the highway in Cincinnati, Ohio. But slowly but surely, your music brought me back,” Coach Prime said.

The clip comes from the “We Got Time Today” episode from Dec. 24. While Sanders has talked about the story before, sharing the experience with Franklin made it all the more shocking.

In 1997, Deion Sanders drove his Mercedes off the side of the road. His car came to a stop and he was unharmed at the time police arrived to his location. After the accident, the former Dallas Cowboys star started counselling with Pastor David Forbes and has since turned into a spiritual man.

Coach Prime has become a leader for young players

Fast-forward 28 years and Deion Sanders’ impact on young people is as big as ever. The Hall of Fame cornerback began coaching in high school in 2012. In 2020, he took over as head coach at Jackson State, an HBCU that had struggled for years on the field.

In three seasons with the Tigers he had a 27-6 record and jumped to Colorado to take over a football program that hadn’t been competitive in years. In his second season at Boulder, he led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record and an Alamo Bowl bid.

However, the impact he’s made off the field has also resonated with the community. From the relationships with players like Travis Hunter to worrying about what they will do after they finish playing football, Coach Prime has impacted the program considerably.

Deion Sanders accompanied Hunter and his mom to the Heisman Trophy presentation, and has a playful, lighthearted relationship with the defensive back/wide receiver.

His experience has also motivated other former NFL players to take jobs at HBCUs looking to follow his path. Among those former players are Eddie George, Ed Reed and most recently, Michael Vick.