NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders played for five teams over the span of his football career. Presently, the two-time Super Bowl champion is switching teams as a broadcaster.
Sanders reported Wednesday he was joining Barstool Sports, a well known online sports media organization. The previous cornerback will host a podcast known as “21 & Prime” with individual ex-NFL Network investigator Jamie Dukes, contribute video content including a NFL pregame show that rivals the traditional networks, and analyze football for 21 minutes each Sunday on the “Pardon My Take” podcast.
“I have not had this platform to give you all this stuff I’ve got in my head. Good lord, I get to get it out. I get to get all this stuff out,” Sanders said in an interview with “Pardon My Take” announcing his transition. “You got to understand, when you’re on a network show, you got a 15-second to 45-second shot clock, and 45 is a lot, to get out your thought and flesh it out. Now, I get to really exhaust my thought and tell you the unfiltered truth and speak my mind and call my friends to validate my point? Are you kidding me?”
Sanders says he additionally acknowledges the reality he will get the chance to arrive at more youthful fans between the ages of 18 to 35 — Barstool’s core fans. He’s recently attempted to contact the crowd through a reality show featuring Sanders and his Florida Atlantic quarterback child Shedeur Sanders on YouTube channel Overtime while additionally boasting more than 1 million followers on Twitter.
In a video declaration affirming the move, Sanders says he will keep on working with the NFL in some capacity however didn’t indicate precisely how. The 53-year-old was one of the NFL Network’s original faces and served as an expert for 14 years.
The New York Post reports Sanders left the network after he was approached to accept a decrease in salary.
“Deion has been one of the key figures responsible for the growth of the NFL Network,” said NFL VP of communications Alex Riethmiller. “We thank him for his work and wish him the best in the future.”
Sanders’ new employer and the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have butted heads throughout the years. Most recently, Barstool’s author Dave Portnoy won the opportunity to watch a NFL game close by Goodell in an offering competition for a charity yet was later denied the opportunity by the league since he didn’t pass a background verification.
Sanders will get one of the most high profile African American representatives at an organization which recently confronted debate after racially-insensitive remarks by the originator reemerged. Videos from 2016 of Portnoy rapping the N-word and saying Colin Kaepernick resembled “an ISIS guy” went viral and even prompted one of the organization’s e-sports personalities to resign, as indicated by the New York Daily News. Regardless of the analysis, Barstool has kept on becoming after the recent launch of a sportsbook in Pennsylvania and another gaming application that has rated high on application charts.
Recently, Sanders hinted at a desire to be a college football coach in 2021 which implies Wednesday’s news probably won’t be the only transition going to the previous cornerback’s life.
