Coach Prime Finally Opens Up: Deion Sanders Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
The diagnosis came after routine medical checks revealed abnormalities, leading to surgery and treatment earlier this year. And Coach offered some important advice.
'Men, everybody, get checked out. Because if it wasn't for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn't have stumbled upon this,' Sanders said at a press conference on Monday.
'Make sure you get the right care because without wonderful people like this, I wouldn't be sitting here today because it grew so expeditiously,' he urged.
'But please get yourself checked.'
Sanders and his medical team proceeded to explain the extent to which the cancer had spread and just how much of an ordeal Coach Prime had to go through to fight it.
Deion Sanders Fought a Tough Battle – And Won
Deion Sanders shared that he is now in recovery and feeling optimistic about his health. He chose to reveal this to inspire others facing similar challenges, emphasizing resilience and faith.
Sportsnaut readers know that he had kept the medical condition well-guarded from the media for some time. Sanders had been away from the team for much of the offseason initially due to unspecified reasons.
The matter had been ongoing for nearly two months. He hinted at health struggles on a podcast with former NFL player Asante Samuel in late May, mentioning a 14-pound weight loss and describing his condition as being at 'a whole other level.'
In a video posted by his son, Deion Sanders Jr., last weekend, he indicated that he is not fully recovered but is actively working on his health. The video shows Sanders engaging in activities with his daughter, Shelomi, like a 1.3-mile 'run-walk' and a recovery ice bath.
'You know I'm still going through something,' Sanders said as he prepared to get into the tub. 'I ain't all the way recovered.'
But he never let on exactly what was ailing him. Perhaps he wanted to be clear of the cancerous tumor before revealing any details to the media. Those details are heartbreaking.
Sanders' medical team revealed that they 'proceeded with the removal of the bladder tumor' and eventually removed the entire bladder before creating a new one.
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Keeping His Sense of Humor
Despite the sensitive topic at the press conference, Deion Sanders was optimistic and kept his trademark sense of humor throughout.
'I can't pee like I used to pee,' he quipped, adding, 'I depend on Depends.'
Sanders said he and his grandson 'are trying to see who has the heaviest bag at the end of the night.'
Earlier this month, Sanders snapped at a reporter from The Athletic who asked about his situation during Big 12 Media Days, responding by accusing the outlet of reporting 'bull junk.'
Now he's being ultra-transparent. And he and his team provided the ultimate positive update.
'I am pleased to report that the results of the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,' his doctor said.
God bless, and best wishes to Coach Prime on his recovery from cancer and the surgery that saved his life.
Also Read:: ESPN Hoping For Deion Sanders-Like Ratings for Bill Belichick Games
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McManus is now 36-for-37 on such kicks through five kicking practices after hitting from 29, 33, 38, 42, 47, 50, 51 and 54 yards on Saturday. His lone miss drifted wide right from 49 yards in a mild wind on Thursday. 'I don't want to jinx anything here,' LaFleur said. 'I'd rather not say too much about him, but he's been pretty consistent.' 2. Tight end Tucker Kraft was the lone new injury. He's dealing with a groin injury, but it doesn't appear to be anything significant. LaFleur said Kraft had been practicing through it and wants to give him a couple days for the issue to subside. Running back Emanuel Wilson left Friday's practice early after suffering a knee injury that looked bad at first, but LaFleur said Saturday, 'It was extremely scary, but I feel like we dodged that one. That is some really good news.' Advertisement Also not practicing Saturday were wide receiver Christian Watson (knee), wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (calf), wide receiver Sam Brown Jr. (ankle), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee), running back MarShawn Lloyd (groin), cornerback Kamal Hadden (hip), defensive end Collin Oliver (hamstring), defensive end Arron Mosby (groin), left tackle Rasheed Walker (groin), offensive lineman John Williams (back) and offensive lineman Travis Glover (shoulder). 3. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons showcased his coverage skills in 1-on-1s, with a pass breakup against tight end John FitzPatrick on an in-breaking route and a breakup near the front-left pylon against tight end Luke Musgrave. Simmons has played defensive back before in the NFL, but the Packers are keeping him at linebacker. Remember when De'Vondre Campbell credited the Packers' staff for simplifying his defensive role at linebacker (compared to what he did previously in Atlanta) after he made the All-Pro First Team in 2021? Simmons probably won't be an All-Pro since he's the Packers' fourth linebacker on the depth chart behind Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, but if anything, he offers intriguing depth on defense in addition to playing a significant role on special teams. Jordan Love sees a lane and takes off for an 18-yard run — Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 3, 2025 4. Green Bay's defense had a handful of standout plays during Saturday's practice. It should be noted that, because the entire night was livestreamed, the Packers kept everything 'pretty vanilla,' like they would in a preseason game. However, there were five interceptions, Brown's three, cornerback Kalen King jumping a Willis pass on the sideline intended for Hicks and cornerback Carrington Valentine shutting down a Matthew Golden go route before making a lunging grab on Jordan Love's pass that drifted well ahead of Golden during the starters' two-minute drill (unclear if Valentine simply disrupted Golden's route that much or if Love overthrew the rookie). In the first team period, defensive tackle Kenny Clark snuck past center Elgton Jenkins to stuff running back Josh Jacobs, Cooper blew up a Golden end-around and defensive end Lukas Van Ness bull-rushed left tackle Jordan Morgan to sack Love. Brown had another run stuff of Chris Brooks while coming off the edge in the red zone, while Brooks got caught up behind a scrum. McKinney had the same against Jacobs, and defensive end Brenton Cox shed tight end Johnny Lumpkin for a stuff of running back Izzy Abanikanda in the red zone. Other standout plays included cornerback Bo Melton's impressive coverage of Golden on a go ball that fell incomplete, defensive lineman Keith Randolph's would-be sack of Elgersma on Brown's second interception, Cooper's potential sack after lining up in the A gap and curling around the right side of the offensive line and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare beating left tackle Anthony Belton for a tackle for loss on running back Amar Johnson. Defensive end Barryn Sorrell also cleanly went around Belton for a sack of Willis during the two-minute drill. 5. Morgan is getting extensive work at left tackle with Walker nursing a groin injury. General manager Brian Gutekunst indicated recently that it would take a significant effort for someone to unseat Walker on Love's blind side, but the 2024 first-round pick is getting the chance to prove himself at his college position after playing strictly right guard as a rookie. That's where the Packers placed him last year since they felt it would be his best chance to start, and Morgan rotated with Sean Rhyan until a shoulder injury ended his season after six games. Morgan said this week that he's most comfortable at left tackle and has been playing there his whole life. He might be the Packers' left tackle of the future, assuming Walker walks in free agency next offseason, but is there a chance he's their left tackle of the present, too? 'There's been a lot of good moments and then there's some things we have to clean up,' LaFleur said. 'It's like that for a lot of players, especially young players. What did he play, six games last year? And this has been primarily inside. To get him outside at left tackle, there's going to be some hard lessons along the way, but I love how he's attacked this thing and the work that he put in throughout the course of the offseason has been pretty evident. You can tell by his body. We'll continue to push him to be the best he can be.' (Top photo of Omar Brown: Tork Mason / Imagn Images)
