Colorado head coach Deion Sanders shared a very personal message on Father’s Day this year, as he opened up regarding his biggest regret. Coach Prime confessed to being a bit immature towards his father, Mims Sanders, and his stepfather, Willie J. Knight, failing to say that he loved them before their demise. And so, Sanders has urged fans to enjoy and cherish the company of their parents while they’re still with them.

Talking about their impact on his life in his latest Instagram post, he said, “Happy blessed Father’s Day to all. I want to get a little personal today because I’ve had two tremendous fathers: Mims Daddy Buck as my biological father and Willie J. Knight, my stepfather, who were tremendous fathers. And I’m saddened because both of them have gone on to be with the Lord. But I’ve never had the opportunity, or I wasn’t mature enough, to say I love you or Happy Father’s Day.

“Stepfathers, just because you stepped there and you ain’t the biological father, that don’t mean you ain’t the father because I had one of the best that ever lived, Willie J. Knight, I love you. Mims Daddy Buck Sanders, he wasn’t perfect, but you tried your best.”

Mims Sanders had a long battle with addiction, but unfortunately, he lost his life to a brain tumor on April 23, 1993, at the age of 50. Back then, Prime Time was just 26 years old and was playing with the Falcons.

Though Mims Sanders was not a present father and separated from Sanders’ mother early on, the father-son duo remained close. In fact, back in 2023, Deion Sanders took to IG and explained how he still remembers him.

“This song reminds me of my father, Mims ‘Daddy Buck’ Sanders,” Sanders wrote. “The feeling, the beat, the mood of the song, and all.”

Now, because of his parents’ separation, both of them couldn’t develop a deep connection, but that gap was filled by Willie J. Knight. He supported his mother, Connie Knight, and always motivated Deion Sanders.

He also introduced Coach Prime to fishing, something that is still one of his favorite hobbies. So, for Deion Sanders, the love and care from both of his fathers mattered a lot, even if they stayed with him for a short period. Now, all these learnings are helping him in his life and his own journey as a father.

Deion Sanders ranks his kids

Deion Sanders is not just a supportive coach but also a father who pushes his kids through tough times. But he also loves ranking them, and what’s a better day than Father’s Day to do this? He did this with a twist by giving out his top three.

Well, every parent loves their kids equally, and so does Deion Sanders, but he loves giving them some reason to fight for. And ranking them is one of them. But this time, he took a different approach and ranked them on the basis of which of them stayed in touch with him, called him, and texted him.

No. 1 Shedeur Sanders
No. 2 Deiondra Sanders
No. 3 Deion Sanders Jr.

He didn’t rank Shilo and Shelomi Sanders because he hadn’t heard from them in a while, which makes it fair.

This isn’t the first time he has ranked his kids, however. Last year, after suffering from bladder cancer, Coach Prime made sure he continued his family tradition of ‘Kids Power Rankings.’ So, on the occasion of his 58th birthday, he gave Bucky the No. 1 rank; Shedeur Sanders was at No. 2; Deiondra Sanders came in at No. 3; Shelomi was at No. 4; and Shilo Sanders took the last spot.

Now, it will be interesting to see if Shilo and Shelomi get their spot in the top three or not, because this Father’s Day, they kind of disappointed Coach Prime.