Deion Sanders has played professional sports most of his life and is showing how he takes the competition beyond the football field with the ranking he has for his own children!
The NFL Hall of Famer went viral over the week with a since-deleted post celebrating his “Favorite Son” Deion Sanders Jr. for his birthday.
“Happy Birthday to My Favorite Son @deionsandersjr ! I’m so proud of you!” he wrote in the caption captured by ESPN.
After noting how his son asks for money “from time to time,” he praised his son’s “productivity” and his excellence in building social media audiences for himself, his siblings, and even the teams his father coaches.
“You have blown up my social, JSU’s social, your siblings’ social and you’re excellent at what you do,” Sanders continued. “Keep on striving for your dreams and to understand your purpose in life.”
While the post appeared wholesome in tone, Sanders closed his caption by noting Jr.’s number one spot on his ranking for his five children,
“Your the #1 son and #1 on the kids rankings currently.”
The University of Colorado Boulder head coach proceeded to share his rankings for his children with Deion Jr. in first, his daughter Shelomi ranking second, his son Shedeur ranking third ahead of his other daughter Deiondra in fourth, and his son Shilo in last place.
The post received a lot of criticism with many blasting Sanders for seemingly ranking his children on a public forum. But there were some who accused Deion Jr. of posting the rankings since he runs his dad’s social media.
“So no one can figure out that the son that handles his socials probably did this as a prank to his dad? Ranking himself as #1 kid? Really people,” one user wrote.
But it’s not the first time Sanders has labeled one of his sons as his “favorite.” In April, he shared a celebratory post about Shilo’s graduation that called him the “favorite son.”
“So proud of my favorite son for graduating today! The best is yet to come son. I’m so so so Proud of you! Now u know what time it is,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders has five children from his first two marriages, including Deiondra and Deion Jr. with his first wife Carolyn Chambers, and Shilo, Shedeur, and Shelomi from his second marriage to Pilar Sanders. Sanders is currently married to producer Tracy Edmonds.
RELATED CONTENT: Deion Sanders Leads Colorado Buffaloes In Upset Win Against Texas Christian University