Deion Sanders' 40-yard dash time: How fast was the Colorado HC?

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, had a legendary playing career as a college prospect for the Florida Seminoles before taking his talents to the NFL. One of his primary strengths was his exceptional speed, and it was largely due to this attribute that he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1989.

Deion Sanders was a legitimate star in both baseball and football. He still holds the distinction of being the only man to have ever appeared in both the World Series and the Super Bowl. Sanders has always pushed the boundaries of what is realistic.

In 1992, in the span of 48 hours, he played in the National League Championship for the Braves before traveling to Miami to play for the Falcons, and then traveling back the same day to join the Braves squad for their game against the Pirates. The ESPN documentary detailing this unique feat is named "Deion's Double Play."

Deion Sanders' 40-yard dash time

Deion Sander's 40 time has officially been clocked at 4:27 and is one of the fastest in NFL draft combine history.

Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman, who was present at Deion Sander's 40-yard dash in the 1989 NFL draft combine, recalled the legendary story:

“Deion gets up to the line and runs his first 40 and everyone has him at 4.3. We figured he was done. He gets up and runs another one, and he runs even faster,” said Gettleman, then a scout for the Bills. “Some people had him at 4.25 [officially a 4.27]. And the funniest damn thing about it was he finishes the 40, continues to run, waves to everybody, goes right through the tunnel and we don’t see him again. We all got up and gave him a standing ovation because so many of those guys wouldn’t run.”

As an analyst on the NFL Network, Deion Sanders also told the story about his 40-yard dash time during the combine:

“I don’t even believe I stretched, you wanna know why? Because I never seen a Cheetah stretch before he go get his prey,” Sanders said. “And I ran, I ran so fast I felt like I was floatin’ ... I felt like I was kinda coming off the ground ... and as I hit the finish line I could remember ... everybody was in disbelief. I just wanted the first person to say 4.2-something because I know 4.3 was not even in the factor.”

He went on to have a legendary NFL career, during which he won the Super Bowl in back-to-back years (1994 and 1995) with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Coach Prime appeared in the MLB arena in addition to the NFL. His career in both fields stands as the epitome of success. No matter how outrageous Deion Sanders' claims have been, he has always had the data to back it up.