Deion Sanders, already a member of the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor, will be announced shortly as a member of the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame class that will be inducted in August. Though he won't technically be the first player to play for the Falcons who makes it in, he's the first who wouldn't have made it in without the the seasons he played for Atlanta.
And while career stats don't really tell the whole story when it comes to defensive backs, Sanders still has an impressive list of numbers. His 53 interceptions rank No. 23 all-time, and he's No. 4 all-time in interception return yardage and touchdowns. His returns on kicks, punts, and interceptions make him the NFL's all-time leader in career non-offensive touchdowns with 19, and he also added three as a part-time wide receiver.
Sanders was named an eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, and one-time AP Defensive Player of the Year.
For more on this year's other finalists and inductees, visit the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame StoryStream at SB Nation's NFL hub.
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Sk | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Tkl | Ast | Sfty |
| 1989 | 22 | ATL | RCB/PR/KR/lcb | 21 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | ||||
| 1990 | 23 | ATL | RCB/PR/KR | 21 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 153 | 2 | 82 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||||
| 1991* | 24 | ATL | RCB/PR/KR | 21 | 15 | 15 | 1.0 | 6 | 119 | 1 | 55 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | |||
| 1992*+ | 25 | ATL | RCB/KR | 21 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 105 | 0 | 55 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | ||||
| 1993*+ | 26 | ATL | RCB | 21 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 91 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | ||||
| 1994*+ | 27 | SFO | RCB | 21 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 303 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |||
| 1995 | 28 | DAL | LCB | 21 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 25 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1996*+ | 29 | DAL | RCB/wr | 21 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 31 | 2 | |||
| 1997*+ | 30 | DAL | RCB/PR | 21 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 81 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | |||
| 1998*+ | 31 | DAL | RCB/PR | 21 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 153 | 1 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | |||
| 1999* | 32 | DAL | RCB/PR | 21 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2000 | 33 | WAS | RCB/PR | 21 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 91 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |||
| 2004 | 37 | BAL | 37 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 87 | 1 | 48 | 5 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2005 | 38 | BAL | 37 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| Career | 188 | 157 | 1.0 | 53 | 1331 | 9 | 93 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 492 | 20 | |||||
| 5 yrs | ATL | 70 | 63 | 1.0 | 24 | 520 | 3 | 82 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 238 | ||||||
| 5 yrs | DAL | 63 | 61 | 14 | 273 | 2 | 71 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 148 | 11 | ||||||
| 2 yrs | BAL | 25 | 6 | 5 | 144 | 1 | 48 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |||||
| 1 yr | SFO | 14 | 12 | 6 | 303 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||||||
| 1 yr | WAS | 16 | 15 | 4 | 91 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 3 | ||||||
| Punt Returns | Kick Returns | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Tm | G | Ret | Yds | TD | Lng | Rt | Yds | TD | Lng | APYd | ||
| 1989 | ATL | 15 | 28 | 307 | 1 | 68 | 11.0 | 35 | 725 | 0 | 72 | 20.7 | 1024 |
| 1990 | ATL | 16 | 29 | 250 | 1 | 79 | 8.6 | 39 | 851 | 0 | 50 | 21.8 | 1101 |
| 1991* | ATL | 15 | 21 | 170 | 0 | 23 | 8.1 | 26 | 576 | 1 | 100 | 22.2 | 763 |
| 1992*+ | ATL | 13 | 13 | 41 | 0 | 14 | 3.2 | 40 | 1067 | 2 | 99 | 26.7 | 1149 |
| 1993*+ | ATL | 11 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 16 | 10.5 | 7 | 169 | 0 | 31 | 24.1 | 296 |
| 1994*+ | SFO | 14 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1995 | DAL | 9 | 1 | 54 | 0 | 43 | 54.0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 15.0 | 103 |
| 1996*+ | DAL | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.0 | 481 | |||||
| 1997*+ | DAL | 13 | 33 | 407 | 1 | 83 | 12.3 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 18.0 | 414 |
| 1998*+ | DAL | 11 | 24 | 375 | 2 | 69 | 15.6 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 16.0 | 491 |
| 1999* | DAL | 14 | 30 | 344 | 1 | 76 | 11.5 | 4 | 87 | 0 | 31 | 21.8 | 455 |
| 2000 | WAS | 16 | 25 | 185 | 0 | 57 | 7.4 | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 | -1.0 | 184 |
| 2004 | BAL | 9 | 5 | 41 | 0 | 23 | 8.2 | 31 | |||||
| 2005 | BAL | 16 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Career | 188 | 212 | 2199 | 6 | 83 | 10.4 | 155 | 3523 | 3 | 100 | 22.7 | 6492 | |
| 5 yrs | ATL | 70 | 93 | 789 | 2 | 79 | 8.5 | 147 | 3388 | 3 | 100 | 23.0 | 4333 |
| 5 yrs | DAL | 63 | 89 | 1184 | 4 | 83 | 13.3 | 7 | 136 | 0 | 31 | 19.4 | 1944 |
| 2 yrs | BAL | 25 | 5 | 41 | 0 | 23 | 8.2 | 31 | |||||
| 1 yr | WAS | 16 | 25 | 185 | 0 | 57 | 7.4 | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 | -1.0 | 184 |
| Receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Lng | |||
| 1989 | 22 | ATL | 15 | 1 | -8 | -8.0 | 0 | -8 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
| 1991* | 24 | ATL | 15 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 17 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| 1992*+ | 25 | ATL | 13 | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 1 | 37 | 0.2 | 3.5 |
| 1993*+ | 26 | ATL | 11 | 6 | 106 | 17.7 | 1 | 70 | 0.5 | 9.6 |
| 1995 | 28 | DAL | 9 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 19 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| 1996*+ | 29 | DAL | 16 | 36 | 475 | 13.2 | 1 | 41 | 2.3 | 29.7 |
| 1997*+ | 30 | DAL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| 1998*+ | 31 | DAL | 11 | 7 | 100 | 14.3 | 0 | 55 | 0.6 | 9.1 |
| 1999* | 32 | DAL | 14 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 0 | 9 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| 2004 | 37 | BAL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| 2005 | 38 | BAL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Career | 188 | 60 | 784 | 13.1 | 3 | 70 | 0.3 | 4.2 | ||
| 5 yrs | ATL | 70 | 11 | 160 | 14.5 | 2 | 70 | 0.2 | 2.3 | |
| 5 yrs | DAL | 63 | 49 | 624 | 12.7 | 1 | 55 | 0.8 | 9.9 | |
| 2 yrs | BAL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||