FSU football: 15 greatest NFL careers ever by former Seminoles
By Joey Loose
![Nov 16, 2013; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Former Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden chats with former Seminoles player Derrick Brooks before the game against the Syracuse Orange at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports Nov 16, 2013; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Former Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden chats with former Seminoles player Derrick Brooks before the game against the Syracuse Orange at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/a53c94d44a69459829569a0536ecb2467a491feab14296c7882127c55a7a3607.jpg)
FSU football greatest NFL career No.1: Deion Sanders
Affectionately known as Prime Time, Deion Sanders was a major factor throughout his playing career, both at Florida State and professionally in the NFL. A Seminole in the late ’80s, he was a 2-time All-American who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back, something he’d continue long into his professional career.
Sanders was selected with the 5th pick of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and played there for his first five seasons. He had 24 interceptions in those years with the Falcons, including his first three trips to the Pro Bowl.
Sanders then won back-to-back Super Bowls, spending the 1994 season with the San Francisco 49ers before heading to the Dallas Cowboys. He was a six-time member of the First Team All-Pro team, with three of those monster years coming with the Cowboys in the late ’90s, and was also a legendary kick returner.
His accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider that he was playing baseball as well for most of his NFL career. He signed a long deal with Washington in 2000 but played just a season before retiring, spending three years out of the game before ending his career with the Baltimore Ravens.
There’s a lot to say about this Pro Football Hall of Famer, and we’re talking only about his playing career, not his recent actions as head coach at Colorado. He remains one of Florida State’s most successful players in any sport and certainly carved his own path in an outstanding NFL career too.