Deion Sanders Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What Is Deion Sanders’ Net Worth Salary and Career Earnings?

Retired American professional football and baseball player Deion Sanders boasts a net worth of $45 million. Recognized as one of the most talented athletes in history, he is among the few to have excelled in two professional sports simultaneously. Remarkably, he is the only individual to have played in both a World Series and a Super Bowl. In a historic week in 1989, Sanders achieved the feat of hitting a home run in a baseball game and scoring a touchdown in an NFL game. Frequently compared to fellow multi-sport athlete Bo Jackson, it is worth noting that while Bo never played in a Super Bowl or World Series, he did compete against Sanders five times in baseball during 1990. At the height of his professional career in the late 1990s, Sanders ranked among the highest-paid athletes worldwide, earning between $10-15 million annually from endorsements and contracts with baseball and NFL teams. Most recently, in December 2022, he signed a contract worth $29.5 million over five years to serve as the head coach of the University of Colorado football team.

Career Earnings

Throughout his NFL and MLB careers, Deion Sanders accumulated nearly $60 million solely in contract earnings—$45 million from the NFL and $13 million from MLB. When adjusted for inflation, this sum is roughly equivalent to about $93 million today. Additionally, Sanders earned tens of millions more from endorsements with notable brands such as Nike, Pepsi, Sega, Burger King, American Express, and Pizza Hut.

The tables below illustrate that from 1991 to 1997 and once more in 2000, Sanders enjoyed the benefits of playing in both professional leagues, earning both a baseball and an NFL salary. His most lucrative season was in 1995, when he earned $7 million with the Dallas Cowboys and $3.66 million with the Cincinnati Reds, totaling $10.66 million. Adjusted for inflation, this amount equates to roughly $20 million in today’s currency.

Deion Sanders NFL Earnings:
Season	Team	Salary
1989	Atlanta Falcons	$880,000
1990	Atlanta Falcons	$880,000
1991	Atlanta Falcons	$880,000
1992	Atlanta Falcons	$880,000
1993	Atlanta Falcons	$880,000
1994	SF 49ers	$1,250,000
1995	Dallas Cowboys	$7,000,000
1996	Dallas Cowboys	$7,000,000
1997	Dallas Cowboys	$7,000,000
1998	Dallas Cowboys	$7,000,000
1999	Dallas Cowboys	$7,000,000
2000	Washington Redskins	$3,200,000
2004	Baltimore Ravens	$1,800,000
	Total NFL Salary:	$45,650,000

 

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Deion Sanders Baseball Earnings
Season	Team	Salary
1991	Atlanta Braves	$660,000
1992	Atlanta Braves	$600,000
1993	Atlanta Braves	$3,166,667
1994	Atlanta Braves	$3,632,513
1995	Cincinnati Reds	$3,666,667
1997	Cincinnati Reds	$1,200,000
2000	Cincinnati Reds	$300,000
	Total:	$13,225,847

Total Earnings from NFL + MLB Career: $58,875,847

Early Life

Brought into the world as Deion Luwynn Sanders on August 9, 1967, in Fort Myers, Florida, Deion became a letterman and all-state performer in football, basketball, and baseball during his time at North Fort Myers High School. His remarkable skills led to his selection for the Florida High School Association All-Century team in 1985, featuring the top 33 players from the past century of Florida high school football. That same year, he was picked by the Kansas City Royals in the Major League Baseball draft, which he chose to turn down.

Football Career

Known as “Prime Time” and “Neon Deion,” Deion Sanders stands out as one of the rare professional athletes who excelled in two major sports leagues. Moreover, he is considered one of the most versatile athletes in the history of sports. Deion played college football at Florida State University, where he earned recognition as a two-time All-American champion. Additionally, he participated in basketball and track during his college days. Notably, in the fall semester of his senior year at Florida State, Sanders skipped all classes and final exams but was still allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, prompting the creation of “the Deion Sanders rule,” prohibiting athletes at state schools from participating in bowl games without completing the prior semester’s work.

Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, Deion primarily played as a cornerback. His NFL career included stints with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins (where he signed his largest contract at $56 million over seven years), and the Baltimore Ravens. In addition to cornerback, he occasionally played as a wide receiver as well as a kick and punt returner. Spanning 14 seasons, Deion secured two Super Bowl Championships—Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers and Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys. He also participated in nine Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Baseball Career

For nine years, Sanders participated in professional baseball part-time. He began his career with the New York Yankees in July 1988, but soon left to join NFL training camp. He made his major league baseball debut on May 31, 1989. Just three days after signing a $4.4 million contract, Deion returned his first punt for a touchdown, making him the only athlete to score a touchdown and hit a home run within the same week. Throughout his nearly decade-long career in baseball, Deion played for several teams, starting with the New York Yankees, who released him after one season. His most significant success came with the Atlanta Braves,
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He subsequently joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1997 and later played for the San Francisco Giants.

While he excelled in football, his experience in baseball proved challenging. His outgoing personality often conflicted with the game’s conservative nature, leading him to get into numerous altercations both on and off the field. He made a World Series appearance in 1992 with the Braves, which was his standout year in both sports, and he remains the only player in history to have participated in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. He concluded his baseball career in 2001.

Coaching Career and Salary

On December 5, 2022, the announcement of Deion as the new head coach for the University of Colorado football team was made public. Along with this news, it was disclosed that he signed a 5-year contract worth $29.5 million to join the program, averaging a salary of $5.9 million annually. From 2020 to 2022, Sanders served as the head coach at Jackson State University, successfully leading the team to two back-to-back Celebration Bowl appearances and achieving the first ever undefeated regular season in the school’s history.

Endorsements and Other Work

Throughout his career, Deion featured in multiple commercials for numerous prominent brands including Nike, Pepsi, Sega, Burger King, American Express, and Pizza Hut.

In 1989, he launched his autobiography titled “Power, Money, & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life.” A rap album called “Prime Time” followed in 1994, released under MC Hammer’s Bust It Records. Additionally, Deion made an appearance in Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit” music video and took part in various cameo roles in TV shows and films.

After winning his first Super Bowl in 1995, he hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.” In 2002, he was the host of the Miss USA pageant. During 2008, he appeared in the reality television show “Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love.” In the same year, Sanders competed on “Celebrity Family Feud” against Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner, Kris Jenner, and the Kardashian sisters, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe.

He also volunteers as a football coach at his son’s school, Trinity Christian School Cedar Hill. In 2012, he founded the Prime Prep Academy Charter School, which unfortunately closed due to financial and legal issues in 2015. From 2014 to 2015, he starred in a reality series titled “Deion’s Family Playbook” on the Oprah Winfrey Network, which highlighted his family life. Following his retirement from both sports, he began working as a studio analyst for the NFL Network on Sundays and CBS Sports solely for Thursday games.

Personal Life

From 1989 to 1998, Deion Sanders was married to Carolyn Chambers, with whom he had two children.

Deion then married Pilar Biggers-Sanders from 1999 until 2013, during which they had three children together. Their divorce was notably difficult and attracted significant media coverage. Reportedly, Pilar learned of the divorce filing through a TMZ story. A prenuptial agreement was in place, which stipulated that he would owe her $100,000 annually for each year of their 12-year marriage. As the divorce progressed, Pilar alluded on a television show that Deion had been physically abusive. Deion responded by suing her for defamation, initially winning a $3 million judgment, which was later overturned. Ultimately, he consented to pay Pilar $10,000 per month in child support and cover $275,000 in her legal expenses, in addition to the prenup terms.

In 2012, he entered a relationship with Tracey Edmonds, the former wife of musician Babyface. This relationship remained unmarried for more than a decade until they announced their split in November 2023.

In 2005, Sanders invited professional athletes across the four major sports to contribute $1,000 to aid Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, aiming to gather between $1.5 and $3 million.

Graduating from Talladega College in 2020, Sanders earned his degree in business administration with a focus on organizational management. After undergoing several foot surgeries in 2021, he had two toes removed from his left foot due to blood clots.

Chateau Montclair

In February 2011, Deion put two of his homes in the Dallas area up for sale—one priced at $7.5 million and the other at an astonishing $21 million. The latter, known as “Chateau Montclair,” is a mansion encompassing 30,000 square feet and was constructed by Deion in 1999 on a sprawling 112 acres. The house features eight bedrooms, a ten-car garage, a movie theater, a bowling alley, a basketball court, a twelve-acre lake, a billiard room, and a barber shop, among other amenities. The master suite alone exceeds the size of many single-family homes, boasting 3,000 square feet that includes a kitchen and a Jacuzzi. In 2014, Deion sold Chateau Montclair to developers for $15 million, who then divided the property into several lots to form an upscale neighborhood named “Montclair.” This reduced the size of Deion’s former mansion from 112 acres to just six acres. By 2018, the smaller Chateau Montclair was put on the market for $14.5 million, which eventually dropped to $4.95 million in 2020, but as of now, it has not yet sold. Here’s a video tour of Chateau Montclair from its 2018 listing:

In 2023, Deion Sanders listed his farm in Mississippi, which spans 42 acres, for $1.5 million. Following his appointment as head coach at the University of Colorado, he acquired a mansion near the campus for $3.97 million.