“I Hope I Am To My Sons What You Are To Your Sons”: Cam Newton Gives His Flowers To Deion Sanders After Cancer Battle Revelation

When Deion Sanders stood before a packed room this week and revealed he had fought and beaten bladder cancer, the world saw not just a coach or a football icon, but a man who had endured in silence. In the last few months, Coach Prime had undergone surgery to remove his bladder and lost nearly 25 pounds. He admitted that, in his own words, it “wasn’t a cakewalk.”

For months, even as speculation swirled, Sanders said little. Not even his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, nor his closest friends knew the full extent of what he was facing. And the worst of all, the Buffs’ head coach had to take an existential challenge: writing a will.

“I had to make a will,” Deion Sanders said in a video shot in May, before adding, “That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here.”

At the time, he had even changed his phone number to avoid conversations that might reveal the truth behind his health. Coach Prime did all this because his goal was simple: keep the spotlight on his sons, who were preparing for the NFL Draft, and not on himself.

“They didn’t know what the extent of it was… so they could be focused on making the team and not focused on dad,” he said.

Considering everyone was in the dark about Deion Sanders’ cancer battle, naturally, shock rippled through the football world when details about his condition emerged this week. And among those deeply affected by the development was Cam Newton.

In the latest edition of his 4th & 1 podcast, the ex-NFL MVP offered a heartfelt tribute to the man he credits as one of his biggest influences, both personally and culturally.

“There would not be no Cam Newton—the bravado, the aura, the flash—without Deion Sanders,” Newton said. “What he means to the Black culture, to football as a whole, no matter what the colour is… that’s the edge, self-confidence, playmaking ability, box office, showtime—or in this case, Primetime,” added the former Panthers star.

But it wasn’t just about the impact on the game for Newton, as he took the moment to reflect on Sanders as a parent, leader, and what his real legacy looks like.

“He’s been an individual that’s like, man — golly, dog, how does he do it? I didn’t know he was faced with this. And yet through it all, still impacting lives. He’s the few that has the team resume and the personal resume that makes him an icon for generations and generations,” said the podcast host.

All Cam Newton could do is hope that he turns out like Sanders one day.

“I hope I am to my sons what you are to your sons… Black man, I appreciate you. What you’ve meant to me and what you mean to me,” he said, clearly moved.

For Cam Newton and many others, Deion Sanders isn’t just a sports figure. He is proof that resilience doesn’t always roar. Sometimes, it fights behind closed doors. At times, it leads without seeking attention. And other times, it keeps giving selflessly — even when it’s barely holding on.

“There will never be another Deion Sanders,” Newton said plainly. And maybe that’s the point. Because Coach Prime, even after cancer, is still coaching, on the field and off it.