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Long before he became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan was a part of the 49ers as a ball boy while his dad, Mike Shanahan, was the offensive coordinator for the team. During this time, the 49ers acquired superstar cornerback Deion Sanders.
Mike recalled how one day, Deion and several other 49ers veterans invited Kyle and the ball boys to dinner, where Deion ended up disapproving of an offer Kyle turned down.
“So they go to dinner and Kyle wears his 49ers jersey to dinner, Deion's jersey, No. 21, that Deion had signed for him,” Mike said. “Kyle's at the restaurant and somebody sees Kyle on the way out and offers Kyle $200 for the jersey. Deion doesn't see it happen, but all of the other ball boys see it happen, some of the other players see it. Kyle says, ‘No way, not selling.'
Next day at practice, Deion sees Kyle and points at him and, you know, kind of motions Kyle to come over to where he is. And in that voice he has when he's really asking a question, Deion goes, ‘Did I understand this right? Did I hear this right? Did you have some guy come up to you last night in that restaurant and offer you $200 for my jersey and you wouldn't sell it to him?' Kyle says he refused to sell it, and Deion looks at him and says, ‘I'm going to teach you some business. No. 1, I get these jerseys for free, all you had to do was sell it, come to me, get another one and I'll sign it. Hey, you have to recognize business opportunities,'” via ESPN.
The addition of Deion Sanders helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl during the 1994-1995 season. Flash Forward almost thirty years later, Deion is coaching the Colorado Buffaloes while Kyle Shanahan is trying to bring home the Niners' sixth Lombardi trophy.
![Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead (91) runs off the field before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars held off the Titans 20-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Arik-Armstead-with-Jaguars.jpg)
