This generation knows Deion Sanders as Coach Prime, the man who turned around programs at Jackson State and Colorado as a head coach. The previous couple of generations probably know him best for terrorizing secondaries and showcasing his flair on punt and interception returns for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.
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However, Deion, much like his son, Shedeur—who will likely be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft like his father—was already a star before he was even drafted No. 5 overall by the Falcons in the 1989 NFL Draft — one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history. That’s because of how good he was at Florida State. He earned two unanimous All-American honors as well as the 1988 Jim Thorpe Award. The Seminoles also retired his No. 2 jersey.
That was all a precursor to what Neon Deion would do at the 1989 NFL Combine. In Indy, at the 40-yard dash, Sanders ran a blistering time of 4.25—or was it 4.27? The debate over Prime Time’s real 40 time has raged for years. But there’s a simple explanation that can settle it.
At the time, in 1989, it was a combine record. However, the timing was done by hand, as the league didn’t implement electronic tracking until 1999. Because of that, Sanders’ 4.25-second time wasn’t officially recognized in the record books. Instead, hand-timed results had 0.02 seconds added to account for human reaction delays—bumping Deion’s time from 4.25 to 4.27.
As you might expect, Sanders’ family likes to poke fun at him about this. His two NFL-bound sons, Shilo, 25, and Shedeur, 23, joked about how they had doubts about how fast their father really ran the 40-yard dash.
Much like Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point NBA game, there is no footage of Neon Deion’s scorching sprint at the 1989 NFL Combine.
“You think they got a film of Dad’s forty? Have you ever seen Dad’s forty on camera?” Shilo asked on an episode of Well of Media.
“No, I haven’t,” Shedeur admitted, though he quickly tried to defend their father—only for Shilo to set the record straight.
“There’s no proof your daddy ran the 40. He’s the only guy they don’t even have footage of running his 40,” the safety remarked.
No matter how you look at it, that’s an incredibly fast 40-yard dash time. Even with the added 0.02 seconds, Sanders’ time has only been matched 12 times at the NFL Combine since the switch to electronic timing in 1999.
If you go by his original 4.25 time as the benchmark, only five players in the past quarter century have matched or beaten Deion Sanders in the 40-yard dash.
Round 7 WR Rondel Menendez ran a 4.24 in 1999, as did future All-Pro RB Chris Johnson in 2008. Another 7th-round pick, CB Kalon Barnes, ran a 4.23 in 2022. Top 10 pick John Ross set a record of 4.22 in 2017, but it was broken by fellow 1st-round WR Xavier Worthy in 2024 when he ran a 4.21.
Considering the advancements in sports science and the physical capabilities of players over the last 35 years, Deion Sanders’ 4.25 time in 1989 might still be the most impressive feat of the bunch—whether you say 4.25 or 4.27.
