Deion Sanders becomes eighth player in Falcons Ring of Honor

Back in those days, Sanders would convert the player's lounge into a wrestling ring by re-arranging the couches. He would don his hat and commence to promote, a la Don King, the Lincoln Kennedy vs. Chris Hinton match or the Chuck Smith vs. Erric Pegram match.

"All of a sudden we'd get [the wrestler Bill] Goldberg on our team," Smith said. "Deion would always say, ‘Nobody is going to mess with Goldberg.' He was the heavyweight champ. We had so much fun."

Sanders, nicknamed “Prime Time” for his flamboyant style of play, was with the Falcons from 1989-93 after being drafted No. 5 overall out of Florida State.

He had 24 interceptions over his Atlanta career even though teams elected to stay away from his side of the field. He set 12 team records.

In 1994, Sanders signed as a free agent with San Francisco. He would go on to play for Dallas, Washington and Baltimore during the outset of the free-agency era. He played 14 seasons in the NFL and won Super Bowl rings with San Francisco and Dallas.

But Sanders insists that he never wanted to leave and that the previous regime never offered a contract. However, it should be noted that the team allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent with the expectation they would be given an opportunity to match any offer from another team.

Sanders was quietly a mentor to several of his teammates.

Smith's career didn't get off to a good start, and he thought coach Jerry Glanville wanted to cut him. He thanks former general manager Ken Herock for keeping him around. But it was Sanders who he credits with saving his career.

"Deion flew me to West Palm Beach," said Smith, who is the defensive-line coach for the Tennessee Volunteers. "Deion was in spring training with the Braves. I'm in his room, and Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith come in. I spent a week with them talking and learning how to rush the passer while Deion was playing baseball."

Sanders also was a mentor to wide receiver Jason Phillips, who played for the Falcons from 1991-94.

"He was the guy who came to practice everyday and competed," said Phillips, the offensive coordinator and wide receivers at the University of Houston. "He demanded that you play with your best every day because he definitely was going to give his best everyday."

Jamie Dukes, who has known Sanders since he was 17, is proud of his former teammate at Florida State and with the Falcons.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a former teammate of his, I don't think you could find any, that wouldn't say that he was the best of teammates," Dukes said.

William Andrews, Steve Bartkowski, Tommy Nobis and Jessie Tuggle were in the first class of Ring of Honor inductees in 2004. Claude Humphrey, Mike Kenn and Jeff Van Note also are members of team’s Ring of Honor. Humphrey and Kenn were the last players to be inducted by the team, in 2008.