As the best cornerback on the planet as well as a weapon on offense and special teams, Sanders earned some serious dough in the NFL.
History has remembered Sanders as one of the greatest football players of his generation and, arguably, the best cornerback the NFL has ever seen. A player of his caliber — especially one who could contribute on offense, defense, and special teams — was worth a whole lot to virtually any franchise that managed to earn his services.
It’s no surprise many teams paid a whole lot of money to secure his talents.
Sanders’ rookie deal with the Falcons was worth $5,225,000 for five seasons, plus a $2 million signing bonus. Once he became a free agent, he signed a slightly more lucrative $1,134,000 contract for one season with the 49ers.
After that, with a Super Bowl victory already in hand, Sanders swung for the fences. He signed a massive seven-year, $34,983,999 deal with the Cowboys that included a $11.9 million signing bonus in 1995 and, four years later, inked a new contract with Dallas for $51.5 million over five years with a $2.5 million signing bonus.
When the Cowboys waived him to free up cap space a year later, Sanders signed a similarly gargantuan deal for $56,125,000 over seven years, including $8 million due at signing. He later added another $3 million through a pair of one-year deals with the Ravens.
In all, Sanders earned $33,568,331 over 14 seasons in the NFL, according to Spotrac. And while that’s objectively a considerable amount of money, it pales in comparison to the sums star defensive players can command today.