Deion Sanders doesn’t deserve the prestige of a number being retired

Former Falcons defensive back Deion Sanders took issue with Todd Gurley announcing that he was going to wear 21 while he was here in Atlanta.

Deion Sanders issue was not with Gurley himself but rather the Atlanta Falcons for allowing players to continue wearing a number he wore for the five seasons that he was with the Falcons. The problem with this announcement by Deion is twofold.

The first issue is that the Falcons decided a long time ago not to retire jersey numbers and stopped doing so. Instead, they started the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor is pay tribute to those that have meant a lot to the organization. Deion is, of course, part of the Ring of Honor.

The second issue and the biggest one, Deion Sanders does not deserve the distinction of having his old number retired in Atlanta.

He left. By his own free will and ability, he left the Atlanta Falcons to go chase a ring just five years into his career.

We have all seen the excuses from fans, such as Andre Rison chased him away or the Smith family was too cheap and did not want to pay him. Let’s address each of those.

First, if Deion Sanders, the so-called “mayor of Atlanta” allowed for an alleged issue with Andre Rison to chase him out of town, he is a fraud. The bravado of “Prime Time” is trash and no one in Atlanta needs to utter his name again.

Second, the Atlanta Falcons organization run by the Smith family had every intention of matching any offer that Deion Sanders received and said so repeatedly.

Let’s remember back in 1994, that Sanders did not sign with the 49ers until Week 3 of the NFL season. Why? Because he was making sure he was signing with a true contender. He never met with the Falcons and/or giving them an opportunity to match the 49ers’ offer.

Personally, there is no issue with a player wanting to go chase a title, that is why they play the game. But when you do so, you forfeit any glory that would have come your way had you fought and done everything in your power to bring a title to the team that drafted you.

Instead of showering all of this praise on fraud like Deion Sanders, you should be showering this type of love for Jessie Tuggle who gave everything he had to Atlanta Falcons organization for more than a decade.