‘You’ll Get This Shit’: Deion Sanders Jr. Uncovers Shocking Truth About Selling a Fake ‘Lifestyle’ After Father Forced Him to Get It on His Own While Mother Struggled with Financial Problems

Deion Sanders is an American success story. He has found success in sports, media, and more. But being a father might be the one area Sanders is most happy with.

Deion “Bucky” Sanders Jr., the eldest son of the NFL legend, opened up about one in all his father’s parenting techniques that ultimately helped him gain the independence he enjoys today.

After almost 40 minutes of the interview, he confessed that he “never lived with my father like this.”

“He’s a wonderful, caring, giving person, don’t get me wrong,” Sanders Jr. said, referring to his father on the episode “Reach The People Media.” podcast while discussing looking for financial support in times when he could have been having difficulties.

He said his father was never one to give anything away without cost, “But his kids… (he was like) ‘No, man, you’re going to go for… I gave you a name. Do something about it.'”

“I used to hate telling people my name. I hated that name.” Sanders Jr., whose father often called him Bucky, added. When asked what name he would use in its place, Bucky replied, “I would just say DJ or just Junior… I hated telling people because you just want to claim that name for yourself. I want you to respect me for who I am. Or I want your number because you think I look good. I want some girl to give me her number because you think I look good.”

Bucky echoed a number of the complications that sometimes come up, as his friends tend to see him as “blessed” due to his father’s status. The 30-year-old recalled a conversation he had with rapper Lil Wayne that taught him, “When a leader needs help, who do you turn to for help? If you’re at the top, you go to God.”

“That’s why I all the time make videos where I pour my heart out, because…brother, regardless of what was going on, regardless of that I felt like God wasn’t responding to me, I still knew God was using me. And I still knew…It’s like God was rewarding me for little victories. Like, ‘Hey, bro, shut up.’

Sanders’ second child said that at one point in his life, he couldn’t afford to attend the Dallas club and even travel that much. He noted that he “didn’t have the money to just get around,” and would even stay at Wayne’s house when he went to Miami.

Bucky shared his struggle with his friends. But to him, it turned him into a monster because he focused on proving “all these people wrong.”

“We didn’t have sh—t, but we always smiled and made sh—t look good, made sh—t look rich and luxurious,” Deion Sanders’ son said. “You have to fake it ’til you make it, wearing costume jewelry, doing things so we could sell that whole lifestyle, since you’re not selling a product, you’re selling a lifestyle.

During his rise to fame within the late Nineteen Eighties, Sanders Sr. created a “Prime Time” persona that only increased his star power. He essentially gave a master class in marketing in an era before social media.

Prime Time allowed Sanders to grow to be the person he wanted to be. Over the years, Sanders’ name has been attached to quite a few brands and has helped him earn thousands and thousands of dollars. He is currently entering his second season as the top coach of the University of Colorado football program.

Bucky was born in 1993 to Deion and his ex-wife Carolyne Chambers. Deion and Carolyne even have a daughter, Sanders Jr.’s older sister, Deiondra, 32. Deion and Carolyne separated in 1998, and in 1999 he married Pilar Biggers.

Deion and Pilar Biggers-Sanders have three children: Shilo, 24, Shedeur, 22, and a daughter, Shelomi, 20. The couple separated in 2013.