WWE Icon Goldberg Says Deion Sanders Had Huge Role in His Decision to Pursue Wrestling

Bill Goldberg is a legendary figure in the world of professional wrestling as a former world heavyweight championship in both the WWE and WCW and 2018 inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. His wrestling career may not have taken place if not for some inspiration from his former Atlanta Falcons teammate, Deion Sanders.

Goldberg, a college defensive lineman at Georgia, was selected in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, but never played in a game for the team. He signed with the Falcons in 1992, making his NFL debut on the defense that featured Sanders, a superstar cornerback. The two formed a tight bond during their two seasons as Atlanta teammates.

Goldberg attended a recent gathering for new Colorado football players with his son Gage Goldberg, a 2024 Colorado signee who will join the team as a preferred walk-on. In a video published by Deion Sanders Jr.’s Well Off Media , Sanders and Goldberg share stories from their days with the Falcons. Sanders mentioned that the team used to hold weekly “wrestling matches” in the locker room, and that he often acted as Goldberg’s promoter. Without that experience, Goldberg isn’t sure he would’ve given professional wrestling a try.

“We had wrestling matches every Friday in the middle of the locker room,” Sanders recalled. “I used to always say, ‘Who wants Goldberg?!’ And everybody put their head down. Nobody wanted him.”

“I guess I have to give him 100% credit for me being a professional wrestler,” Goldberg said. “Because I never would’ve done it.”

The two remain incredibly close, something Goldberg drove home when discussing his son’s upcoming enrollment in Boulder.

“All I can say is I love him like a brother. And now he’s taking care of my boy,” Goldberg said. “There’s no other defining way that I can describe it, except from the fact that my son is going to school under Deion Sanders, and I couldn’t be more appreciative and blessed, because this is one of the best human beings that God ever built.”