MLB: Best MLBers to play in NFL during Super Bowl era

MLB/NFL crossover: Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders was known as “Prime Time” during a 14-year NFL career that included two Super Bowl rings, six All-Pro selections and a Defensive Player of the Year award despite playing in only 14 games for the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.

Sanders retired after playing the 2000 season with the Washington Redskins, but returned to play two more years in 2004-05 with the Baltimore Ravens. He also spent five years with the Atlanta Falcons (1989-93) and five years with the Dallas Cowboys (1995-99).

He wasn’t nearly as sought after as a baseball prospect out of Florida State University. He was the fifth overall pick by the Falcons in the 1989 NFL Draft after going in the 30th round to the New York Yankees in the 1988 MLB June Amateir Draft.

But Deion made his major-league debut less than a year later and struggled with the Yankees, who released him before the end of the 1990 season. Sanders signed with the Atlanta Braves, where he played in the 1992 postseason — most famously suiting up for both the Falcons and Braves the same day, Oct. 11, 1992.

He was with the Falcons for a 21-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins in South Florida that afternoon and made it for Game 5 of the the Braves’ NLCS against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though he did not play in Atlanta’s 7-1 loss.

Sanders played parts of nine seasons in the majors, also spending time with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants from 1989-95, 1997 and 2001.

He led the majors with 14 triples in just 97 games in 1992 and stole a career-high 38 bases in the strike-shortened 1994 season with the Braves and Reds.

For his career, Sanders hit .263 with a .711 OPS in 641 games and 2,325 plate appearances. He had 72 doubles, 43 triples, 39 homers and 168 RBI while stealing 186 bases.