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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders once was one of the fastest players in professional sports and even had his own line of Nike footwear to cash in on it.
But after 14 seasons in the NFL — and another nine in Major League Baseball — the mileage eventually caught up with his fleet feet, along with a serious rash of blood clots in his legs. On Monday June 28, Sanders and his medical team also revealed he suffered from bladder cancer before he recovered at his estate in Canton, Texas, in May and June. He elected to have the bladder removed in May and is now planning to begin his third season in Boulder at age 57.
“I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” said Janet Kukreja, the director of urologic oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Here is a timeline of how his health issues have progressed through years after he got into coaching college football at Jackson State in Mississippi in 2020. They reached their lowest point during a 23-day hospital stay in the fall of 2021, when Sanders said he nearly died. Sanders said he’s had 14 surgeries since 2021.
“I had more surgeries out of the game than I did in the game,” Sanders said Monday. “Like what is going on?”
September 2021: Deion Sanders undergoes foot surgery
As coach at Jackson State, Deion Sanders experienced throbbing pain in his left foot and limped. He had a bunion, an inflamed nerve and a hammertoe, which is a toe bent downward. He has attributed some of these issues to fallout from his playing career.
“My foot is shot, and I can’t take it,” he said as he prepared to undergo surgery on it, as documented by the Barstool Sports documentary series “Coach Prime.”
After surgery, he returned to the field with some help – using crutches, a golf cart and a scooter.
October 2021: Deion Sanders hospitalized for 23 days
Jackson State athletic trainer Lauren Askevold was changing Sanders’ bandages when she notices toes on his left foot had turned dark black. His team was 5-1 at the time, but she encouraged him to get his foot examined. He was admitted to the hospital and spent 23 days there while he endured a crisis over blood clots in his leg. The clots in his arteries were cutting off circulation to his foot. Two toes were amputated – the big one on his left foot and the one next to it. He also suffered from compartment syndrome and had the sides of his left calf removed in surgery.
Sanders has said he nearly died during this time as he underwent eight surgeries during his hospital stay, which stretched into November 2021.
November 2021: Deion Sanders returns in wheelchair
After missing three games while in the hospital, Sanders returned to the sideline in a motorized wheelchair. His team beat Southern Nov. 13, 21-17. Jackson State finished the season 11-2, including the three games Sanders missed, all wins.
March 2022: Deion Sanders details his prior health crisis
A documentary series entitled “Coach Prime” debuts on Barstool Sports. Sanders discusses his health crisis from the previous fall and said blood clots have been an issue in his family, including an uncle who died, another uncle who nearly died and his mother. The series also revealed that he was going to lose his left leg if they didn’t do emergency surgery.
December 2022: Sanders hired at Colorado
Sanders recovered from surgery and helped lead Jackson State to a 12-1 season before getting hired at Colorado in early December 2022. He walked slowly and with a slight limp because of ongoing discomfort in his left foot.
June 2023: Deion Sanders undergoes another surgery
Sanders permitted his doctors to be filmed on video talking to him about his condition. The footage was published on Thee Pregame Show on YouTube, with one doctor saying Sanders “could lose the foot.”
Sanders said he had no feeling in the bottom of the foot. Another doctor said the blood pressure near his ankle has worsened since 2022 and was 66% of the blood pressure measured in his arm.
He underwent surgery later that month to remove blood clots in his left leg.
July 2023: Deion Sanders misses Pac-12 media event
Sanders announced he would undergo his second surgery in the summer of 2023 and would miss his scheduled appearance at the Pac-12 Conference media day event in Las Vegas. He underwent two surgeries – one to remove a clot and another to fix a hammertoe. That added up to 12 surgeries since 2021.
“Now the blood flow is great,” Sanders told USA TODAY Sports in August 2023. “I was hurting so bad because I wasn’t getting any blood flow down there over the last year. That’s why I was hurting … and walking crazy.”
September 2023: Deion Sanders runs onto the field
Sanders achieved his goal of running onto the field with his team before the season opener at TCU. The Buffaloes stunned the nation by winning 45-42. They started the season 3-0 before finishing the season 4-8.
May/June 2025: Deion Sanders suffers new setback
Sanders went though the 2024 season without any public health interruptions and finished his second season in Boulder with a 9-4 record. But then in late May, he said in a podcast with former NFL cornerback Asanta Samuel that he had suffered a health issue and lost 14 pounds. He didn’t disclose the issue.
He recuperated at his estate in Texas and missed several events, including Colorado’s annual youth and high school football camps in June and a speaking appearance in Florida June 8. Football recruits who visited campus were told he was out sick.
July 2025: Sanders returns to Colorado
Sanders spoke at a Big 12 Conference media days event in Frisco, Texas, July 9 but declined to discuss his health. He was seen there leaning on a chair while standing. He then returned to his estate in east Texas where he said he was “still going through something.” He returned to Colorado July 25, two days before his players were due to report for preseason football camp. He held a news conference to discuss his condition July 28.
He said he “depends on Depend” underwear and has had issues with urination but never considered retiring from coaching.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com