Deion Sanders wasn’t exactly a name I was familiar with up until the start of the 2023 college football season. After word started to circulate about Deion, aka Coach Prime, I could then recall that he was formerly (and still is) a big name in NFL football. After researching him more, I found out Deion competed as a two-sport athlete, playing on four teams in Major League Baseball before venturing into the NFL where he played for five teams over 14 seasons.
For the last few weeks, the Sanders name has been everywhere. TikTok, CNN, ESPN, even CBS did their season premiere of 60 Minutes with Deion Sanders. Throughout his life, it’s been no secret that Deion is a confident, fashionable guy. While he’s been in his coaching gig for a few years, I couldn’t help but wonder how his style, past and present, will reflect on his Colorado Boulder team this football season. Below are a few of Coach Prime’s most famous outfit choices and accessories.
The Iconic Bandana
“No one’s really seen me during the game, without a bandana.” Deion Sanders stated in a sit-down video with GQ Sports breaking down some of his earlier game-day looks. This statement came after Deion was met with a photo of the outfit he’d worn from his Pro Football Hall of Fame speech. At the end of his speech, it was clear Deion knew what the people wanted and how they would most likely be able to pick him out among the others. He grabbed a bandana out of his suit pocket and tied it around the bust of his head. Throughout his MLB and NFL careers, this simple headdress separated him from the rest of the players and was the first major trend Deion made in his journey to his own self-identification.
Photo Courtesy of @DeionSanders/Instagram
Suits
Coach Prime has been all over my TikTok feed lately, and I recently encountered a speech he had for his University of Colorado Boulder team, in part of this speech on TikTok he made clear how he expected his team to dress the weekend of a game. “Suits today. Tomorrow, from the hotel to the stadium. I want you to be so clean, you’re dirty.”, says Deion. Deion Sanders is all about a suit. “Look good, feel good, feel good, play good, play good, they pay good, they pay good, you live good.” Yet another one of Deion Sanders's iconic quotes that pushes his players to remember to look their best, to feel their best, to play their best. While Deion has only ever had suits made by David Corbitt out of St. Louis, Coach Prime, and former NFL defensive end Michael Strahan, gifted the CU Boulder team custom suits from Strahan’s line of menswear and received neckties from PrimeTime Neckwear.
Photo Courtesy of @gqsports & @cubuffsfootball/Instagram
Sunglasses
Although the sunglasses aren’t a new accessory of Deion’s, it’s a staple of his dress code. In his first photo shoot with Sports Illustrated which took place in 1989, Deion is on the cover of the magazine sporting Emmanuelle Khanh shades. Emmanuelle was a French designer known for her eyewear and was all Deion wore at the time. Leading up to the instate rivalry game between CU Boulder and Colorado State, the coach for Colorado State, Jay Norvell, had some criticism for Deion about his sunglasses and took to his radio show last Wednesday to say, “When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat and glasses off. That’s what my mother taught me.” In response to Norvell’s comment, in a video posted to Youtube by “Well Off Media,” (run by one of Deion’s sons), Coach is at practice with his team when he addresses the remark and motivates his team by saying, “Why would you want to talk about us when we don’t talk about nobody? All we do is go out here, work our butts off, and do our job on Saturday. But when they give us ammunition, they done messed around and made it…” to which his team responded, “Personal.” ESPN made the trip to Boulder this past weekend, for the much-anticipated game. During their time there, Deion gifted shades to the crew of “First Take,” “The Pat McAfee Show,” and his Colorado team. I would say that Deion’s sunglasses have taken the place of his iconic bandana, seeing now he’s in collaboration with Blenders Eyewear. When you go to their website, you come face-to-face with the advertising for PRIME sunglasses. First reported by On3 media, an estimated 4.5 million dollars has been brought in from the Coach Prime sunglasses.
Photo Courtesy of @cubuffsfootball/Instagram
Through the whole of his career, Coach Prime has carefully calculated his every move. Demonstrated by creating trends that become in vogue, dressing well, and partnering with companies well-known throughout the fashion industry, Deion will continue to set the standard for not only his Colorado Boulder team but also those who will encounter his leadership.
Comments