How much did Deion Sanders make playing baseball? Exploring former MLB superstar’s career earnings

byCrypto Bargain -October 09, 2023

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They don’t make athletes like Deion Sanders anymore. While most athletes start their athletic journey playing multiple sports, they end up having a professional career in just one. Not Prime Time. Why limit yourself to just one major sport when you can play two at the highest level?

Sanders is the only athlete to have appeared in the Super Bowl and the World Series. The incredible aspect of this feat is that he made it look easy. He would later choose football over baseball as a coach. Although he was a College Football Hall of Famer and a two-time Super Bowl champ and now coaches the Colorado Buffaloes, he was also a big-time baseball player.

Here’s a look at his MLB career earnings to get an idea of how big he was.

How much did Deion Sanders make playing baseball?

Deion Sanders’ estimated earnings as a baseball player are $13 million in salaries and bonuses. Sanders first had the opportunity to sign an MLB contract when the Kansas City Royals drafted him in the sixth round in 1985. But he took his time and went on to play college football and baseball at Florida State instead.

His time came in 1988 when the New York Yankees selected him in the 30th round of the 1988 draft. His second MLB contract was with the Atlanta Braves in 1991. He played with the Braves until 1994. The Braves traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in 1994, and he remained with the Reds until 1995, when he signed with the San Francisco Giants.

He returned for another stint with the Reds in 1997. He spent three years away from professional baseball before signing for the Reds again in 2001. It was to be his last MLB contract.

As much as Sanders combined playing professional baseball with football with so much grace, he arguably didn’t reach his full potential in baseball. He had to make sure his MLB team and NFL team were in the same location. This became obvious so early in his career that Yankees general manager Gene Michael observed that his “football career was stunting his baseball development.”

He also spent a couple of what should have been his peak years away from the MLB in the 1990s. He made up for that by playing in the minor league. However, the significance of Deion Sanders’ achievements as a baseball player who also had a pro football career going on has never been understated.