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Sportsperson of the Year 2023: Deion Sanders

Links to all of our Sportsperson of the Year coverage, including the main feature written by Pat Forde and sidebars from LeBron James, Jerry Rice and Sanders’s manager Constance Schwartz-Morini.
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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has been named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2023. Below are links to each story related to the announcement.

Deion Sanders Is SI’s 2023 Sportsperson of the Year

Deion Sanders posing for the SI cover.

Sanders has quickly become ingratiated in Boulder’s community while bringing Colorado’s football program into a new, exciting era.

In less than a year, Coach Prime has not only transformed a moribund Colorado football program. He’s also breathed fresh life into the campus and transformed a community.

Order the SI 2023 Sportsperson of the Year issue here.


Deion Sanders Is an Inspiration for Every Athlete—Including LeBron James

LeBron James, center, sits on bleachers with his arms around his kids: Bryce James, left, and Bronny James, right.

LeBron James, center, sits on bleachers with his arms around his kids: Bryce James, left, and Bronny James, right.

Three-time Sportsperson of the Year LeBron James shares how Sanders has affected him inside and outside of athletics.


Deion Sanders Was Jerry Rice’s Hated Rival—and Invaluable Teammate

Jerry Rice, right, puts his arm around Deion Sanders on the practice field as members of the San Francisco 49ers

Sanders, left, and Rice won a Super Bowl together during their lone season as teammates on the San Francisco 49ers.

The NFL’s all-time receiving leader explains how Sanders motivated him as an opponent, and later as a teammate and friend.


Deion Sanders’s manager, Constance Schwartz-Morini

Constance Schwartz-Morini, Sanders’s manager, has known him for nearly 30 years.

Coach Prime’s longtime manager has seen how the Hall of Famer can connect with just about anyone, and how he’s made the most of that ability.


From left to right, top to bottom: Peyton Manning, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, John Wooden and Billie Jean King, Sandy Koufax, Bill Russell, Roger Bannister.

From left to right, top to bottom: Peyton Manning, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, John Wooden and Billie Jean King, Sandy Koufax, Bill Russell, Roger Bannister.

From Deion Sanders to Roger Bannister, here is every winner of Sportsperson of the Year—including Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King and more.