From being a threat anywhere on the gridiron and a catcher’s nightmare once on base, to letting people know that it “must be the money,” Deion Sanders had all the flash of a megastar and the talent to back it up.
While his athletic reputation has been well documented, the part of his career that has been slept on is his relationship with Nike and the heat they produced together.
“Prime Time” was blessed with his first signature shoe named the Nike Air Diamond Turf while a member of the Braves and the Falcons. The shoe was designed to reflect Deion’s dual duties on the football field and the baseball diamond. This made this sneaker the ultimate cross-trainer, as it was actively used across two different sports by one of the best to do it. Bo Jackson gets a lot of props as the best athlete of his generation, but Sanders is right there with him. Deion and Nike put out more additions to the Diamond Turf model, but most sneaker authorities consider the first shoe the best one.
As his career progressed he became a fulltime football player that we witnessed win 2 Super Bowls, a Defensive Player of the Year award and eventually a trip to Cooperstown. Through his career we’ve seen the Diamond Turf models come in Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, Redskins and Ravens colorways (not to mention all the retro models that came in a variety of colors.) Just as he left his mark on pro baseball and football Sanders definitely left his mark on the sneaker game equally.
