Deion Sanders Says Colts Stole Opponents' Defensive Signals

During a conversation with LaDainian Tomlinson on NFL Network following the New England Patriots' Super Bowl LI win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders said the Indianapolis Colts used to steal defensive signals.

According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Sanders said the following in response to whether the Pats' success was tainted due to scandals such as Spygate and Deflategate: "Those same critics, did they say anything about the wins that the [Colts] had? You want to talk about that too?" Sanders asked.

He continued: "Because they were getting everybody's signals. Come on, you don't walk up to the line and look over here and the man on the sideline giving you the defense that they've stolen the plays of. We all knew. L.T. knew. Everybody in the NFL knew. We just didn't let the fans know. That was real, and that was happening in Indy."

Sanders didn't provide specifics.

Former Colts head coach and current NBC NFL analyst Tony Dungy responded to Sanders in an interview for PFT Live on Wednesday morning.

"Deion, I'm sure on every scouting report that he ever got, the first thing that's on there on the defensive scouting reports, who is the live signal-caller, who signals the personnel groups in. And that's what happened.

"And you looked over there because you wanted to know as a defensive player: Is it going to be three wide receivers? Is it going to be two tight ends? Who's in the game? There's a person over there signaling and [Sanders] and every other defensive player would look at the offensive sideline to get that signal. So that is football. And I'm not sure what Deion is referring to, really. ...

"... That's all part of the game, but doing it legally and illegally, that's the difference. I hope Deion is not saying we did something illegally. Of course we got signals when we had an opportunity to do that, and so did Deion."

Dungy coached the Colts from 2002 through 2008, going 85-27 with seven playoff appearances and one Super Bowl championship alongside quarterback Peyton Manning. He coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 through 2001.

Former Colts GM and current ESPN analyst Bill Polian also denied the claims, saying, "Deion is 100 percent wrong when he said we did it illegally," per NFL on ESPN.