Deion Sanders: The Hall of Fame needs new levels
The new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes spoke to Matt Harmon on Radio Row at Super Bowl LVII about his thoughts on the class of players who are getting into the Hall of Fame. Deion joined Yahoo Sports on behalf of Oikos Yogurt.
Video Transcript
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MATT HARMON: Matt Harmon here, joined now by absolute legend, a man who needs no introduction, Deion Sanders himself. How are you doing, my friend?
DEION SANDERS: How you doing, man?
MATT HARMON: No complaints.
DEION SANDERS: Good to be here.
MATT HARMON: It's good to be here, yeah. One question I have for you. I was reading an article on "Pro Football Talk" the other day about playing off your idea of a potential split Hall of Fame or like--
DEION SANDERS: It should be
MATT HARMON: --a legendary-- can you explain that to people who aren't familiar?
DEION SANDERS: Well, it's getting down to normalcy. I mean, this is not taking away from the guys that are voted in because they're deserving. They were voted in. But there's another level to this.
When I was a shorty, when I was a kid coming up, it was a game changer. It was guys who you knew darn well. You didn't have to guess what they were going to do on that particular Sunday or Monday or Thursday night. You knew they were dogs. They was gonna hunt. It ain't like that no more.
MATT HARMON: Yeah.
DEION SANDERS: Yeah, so it should be a different level. Now when you get to the next level, we should vote that.
MATT HARMON: So current Hall of Famers--
DEION SANDERS: We should vote that.
MATT HARMON: --guys that are in there. You should vote for--
DEION SANDERS: The upper room.
MATT HARMON: The upper room.
DEION SANDERS: The upper room.
MATT HARMON: That's a good way of saying it, the upper room, the penthouse, something like that.
DEION SANDERS: And give us another color jacket.
MATT HARMON: So what color?
DEION SANDERS: So it would distinguish. It could be a gold. That gold right now is gold, but it ain't gold. It should be gold. It's just getting to the point now, when you hear those names, you say, eh, I don't know about them.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, that's like a-- if you have to think about it, then they probably-- yeah, it's not there.
DEION SANDERS: It should be upper room.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, I like that. I mean, you still have a Hall of Fame, but something a little different.
DEION SANDERS: Because it's getting offensive to us.
MATT HARMON: It is.
DEION SANDERS: It's getting offensive. And I believe-- I'm probably the only one that's willing to say it, but it's getting offensive.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, like guys are in your level that weren't in your level.
DEION SANDERS: How can Devin Hester not be voted in the Hall of Fame?
MATT HARMON: I don't know.
DEION SANDERS: Changed the game.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, I mean, I was--
DEION SANDERS: Changed the game.
MATT HARMON: Those Bears teams, that was like my kind of come up into being obsessed with football. And it's like--
DEION SANDERS: This man changed the game. How can you skip over him for the second time straight? It don't make no sense.
MATT HARMON: It makes no sense. And I mean, again, it's like if you have to think about it-- you shouldn't even have to think about it with a guy like Devin Hester.
DEION SANDERS: Changed the game. The best ever. I said it. Because I believe I'm the best ever, but I said he's the best ever, OK?
MATT HARMON: Yeah, he's a legend.
DEION SANDERS: That's right.
MATT HARMON: If you were a dork like me playing Madden back in the day, you wanted Devin Hester on your team as a returner. And throw him out there at wide receiver because he's got that kind of speed.
DEION SANDERS: That's right. And he did his thing.
MATT HARMON: So Colorado. Expectations for this year--
DEION SANDERS: We're gonna win.
MATT HARMON: You're gonna win?
DEION SANDERS: Yeah, we're gonna win.
MATT HARMON: If you could define the culture of Colorado in one word--
DEION SANDERS: That's being built right now. That's been established and reestablished. That's being defined instantly. Like right now, as we sit here and have a wonderful conversation, I can hear weights banging.
MATT HARMON: Yeah.
DEION SANDERS: I can hear guys grunting. I can hear guys just moaning, just trying to go get it, and guys trying to make sure they hit the line in time for the conditioning. I can see it. I can feel it. I can hear it.
MATT HARMON: You're here on behalf of Oikos Yogurt.
DEION SANDERS: Yeah.
MATT HARMON: Tell me what you got going on with them.
DEION SANDERS: OK, Oikos [INAUDIBLE] all the strengths to make you unstoppable. We all got to [INAUDIBLE] But I partnered with a company for the second year straight that has identified that and identified the strengths of my family.
I love family. I love unity. We have a spot for the Super Bowl that is unbelievable. We're very competitive. We're unstoppable. And it's hilarious. And I can't wait to see it. My mama in it, my daughters, my sister, the sons, everything.
MATT HARMON: That's cool that you got the thing to bring the whole family together.
DEION SANDERS: It's a family reunion, which I've never been to in my life.
MATT HARMON: Really?
DEION SANDERS: Yeah.
MATT HARMON: I mean, that's where a lot of family drama can get you.
DEION SANDERS: Yeah, I don't do the reunions. It's like an organized stick-up for me.
MATT HARMON: [LAUGHS]
DEION SANDERS: I don't do that.
