NFL legend and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who is the current head coach of the University of Colorado football team and the only athlete to ever play in both the Super Bowl and World Series, recently announced that he is now cancer-free, despite having a rough few years battling the horrific disease and all that comes with it.
And yet, despite the odds stacked against him, “Neon Deion” is still finding ways to pull out victories. “I got my life back,” Sanders went on to say during a nationally televised interview. “I got my swagger back.” Sanders sat down with “Good Morning America” where he revealed that he’s finally cancer-free and that the blood clots that threatened his health years ago, which led to the amputation of several toes and returned last year resulting in the necessity of an aspiration thrombectomy in his left leg, weren’t even a part of the discussion.
“I’m cancer free. I’m good,” Sanders stated during the interview. “Great doctors in Colorado that [have] brought me through. God has brought me through. I’m thankful, I’m healthy. I got my swagger back. Like, I’m ready to go, coach my butt off. And I’m having a good time. But early detection was key getting on it early, because you know amputation, so they were checking for something else and stumbled upon this. So early detection helped me out tremendously.”
According to a report from Fox News, the blood clots mentioned above required Sanders to have surgery in 2023 to improve blood circulation. However, in 2025, he started to have severe leg pain, which led to concerns that the clots had returned. He then had the clot-removing procedure. All of this hit him on top of a diagnosis of an aggressive form of bladder cancer that was discovered during a regularly scheduled vascular exam.
The treatment for the cancer was harrowing, as it required the removal of his bladder and the construction of a brand new one using parts of his intestines. That solution presented Sanders with a whole new set of problems, notably, incontinence. “Now you’re sitting in the room, don’t know what’s what, can’t control your bladder,” Sanders explained.
“You got a whole new bladder. Your bladder don’t know you, you don’t know it. You’re peeing in the bed. I remember going to a speaking engagement and the first thing I do, and we left that morning, like 7 a.m. and I had to be there at 8:30. First thing I do is grab my crotch. Because I’m like, oh, my God, I hope I haven’t peed on myself. I didn’t bring another change of clothes,” he continued.
“When you’re playing a football game, night game, we played, we fly back on the plane. First thing you do is wake up and you grab your crotch. Oh, my God, I hope I haven’t peed on myself,” Sanders said. The ever business-savvy Sanders found a way to flip these potentially embarrassing episodes into a way to make money.
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Sanders signed on to be a spokesman for Depend and its disposable adult incontinence underwear. “I don’t have to be afraid to travel anymore,” Sanders stated. “I don’t have to be afraid to have a good night’s sleep. I have the product that helps me.” Now, with his health problems fading into the past, Sanders is set to take on a new challenge: coaching the Buffaloes in their upcoming season.
When asked what he’s looking forward to next, the football legend answered, “Winning. And I’m healthy. I got my health back. I got my swagger back … I got my me back. You know, last year, this time, I’m fighting cancer. Didn’t know which way it was gonna go. But I’m fully back now. Last year at this time it wasn’t a good look.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video