15 best free agent signings in Dallas Cowboys history

1. Deion Sanders, CB, 1995

Deion Sanders was one of the most electrifying athletes of his time. A two-sport star, Prime Time played for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants in a Major League Baseball career that spanned from 1989 through 1995 — and then he returned in 1997 and again in 2001.

During that same span, he was becoming a superstar in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons. Sanders played five seasons with the Dirty Birds and had 24 interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns. He also scored five times on special teams for the Falcons and played sparingly on offense.

Then in 1994, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers despite being pursued by Dallas, who had just won two Super Bowls in a row. Sanders helped the Niners win it all that season, then finally signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Cowboys afterward.

Again, Sanders was holding the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season as Dallas wound up knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

Prime Time spent five years with the Cowboys and was used in multiple ways. Not only did he have 14 picks and three touchdowns on defense, but he added four touchdowns as a punt returner, and had 49 receptions for 624 yards with another touchdown as a receiver.

He was let go ahead of the 2000 season in a salary cap move but was still the best free-agent addition Dallas has ever made.