Jackson State University head football coach Deion Sanders has committed to giving up half of his annual salary to ensure that his team’s new facility is completed in time for the upcoming season.

According to the Jackson Clarion Ledger, Sanders has a deal worth $1.2 million over three years which averages out to $300,000 a year.

Constance Schwatz-Morini, who is the founder of SMAC Entertainment which represents Sanders, told him that the budget for the project had been reached. She encouraged him to donate a quarter of his salary to get the upgrades completed.

“This is your legacy we're talking about," Schwartz-Morini told Sanders.

“I’ll put more than that on it to get this done for these kids,” Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, says in a viral video. “… I’ll put half on it to get this done. If you don’t believe me, check me. I will send you the receipts.”

Sanders wants the facility done by August 4—one month before the Tigers opener against Florida A&M.

“Coach Prime,” as he is known, signed a four-year agreement to coach Jackson State in 2020. In the 2021 season, he led the team to an 11-1 record and went 8-0 in the SWAC conference. He recruited his sons Shedeur and Shilo to play for the team. His daughter, Shelomi, has committed to playing basketball at the university as well.

Although Sanders has entered a new phase as a college football coach, he is still best known for his years in the NFL as a defensive back from 1989 to 2000, playing mainly for the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys for 11 years and coming out of retirement briefly to play for the Baltimore Ravens for two seasons before permanently retiring.

He also played Major League Baseball concurrently for several teams including the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants from 1988 to 2001.