Deion Sanders once made a Hall of Fame career out of stopping on a dime, planting his foot and changing direction with the fastest receivers in football.
Those movements would be incredibly difficult for anyone missing toes, yet that has been Sanders’ reality since having the two largest toes on his left foot amputated in 2021.
Now, Coach Prime is exploring something that could make his daily life a little easier.
Sanders was recently fitted for custom prosthetic toes during an appointment inside his Colorado office. The process was featured in a video posted on Well Off Media by his oldest son, Deion Sanders Jr.
“I need toes,” Sanders said. “I want it to fit my shoes properly.”
Sanders lost the toes after developing serious blood clots. He has undergone numerous procedures since then and acknowledged during the appointment that he still experiences agonizing pain in the foot “every day.”
For Sanders, the interest in prosthetics appears to be far more practical than cosmetic. A representative from medical device company Össur showed Sanders several possibilities, including realistic silicone toes that could match his skin, hair, scars and even the natural imprint of his remaining toes. Another option would use a lightweight orthotic and foam filler to redistribute pressure across his foot.
The options briefly overwhelmed Sanders, especially when he was shown a full-foot sample rather than just the toe filler he had in mind.
“Brought me a whole foot,” Sanders joked. Moments later, noticing the sample did not match his skin tone, he added with a laugh, “Could have brought me a black one.”
That exchange captured the tone of the appointment. Sanders was joking throughout, but the need behind it was real. He was not looking for a cosmetic transformation as much as a way to make his shoes fit correctly and reduce the strain on his foot.
The representative explained that approximately 50 to 75 percent of a person’s weight should be supported by the inside portion of the foot. Without his two largest toes, Sanders has been placing additional pressure on an area that is not designed to carry it. This is problematic as overcompensating can lead to back pain and other ailments.
It is a humbling reality for someone who once possessed some of the best footwork in sports. Sanders has openly joked about his missing toes, as have his children.
Shortly after the amputations were revealed, Shedeur Sanders famously told his father, “I’m ten toes down for you.”
Four years later, Coach Prime could soon stand ten toes down himself, even if two of them are prosthetic.
For a coach who has built so much of his public persona around standing on business, this was a different, more practical and personal, version of it.
“I always wanted to see how it feels to walk in the…[well] y’all know,” Sanders said while looking over the options. “I just wonder, would my life be different?”
The custom prosthesis could also allow Sanders to wear shoes and slides more comfortably. He joked about his enormous shoe collection and the possibility of having enough fillers made to leave inside several pairs.
“I got a million pair of shoes right here,” Sanders said. “I’m just trying to fill my shoe up.”
The possibility had been discussed previously, but Sanders said the process was delayed by his battle with bladder cancer. He had his bladder removed in 2025 and has since announced that he is cancer-free.
“We tried to do it like a year ago, but then we got sidetracked with the bladder cancer,” Sanders said. “A little bump in the road.”
After having both feet scanned and learning more about his options, Sanders was ready to move forward.
“OK, well, I’ll proceed,” he said.
The custom prosthetic is expected to take approximately eight weeks to fabricate, potentially giving Sanders additional support around the beginning of Colorado’s football season.
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