Merton Hanks was a veteran starter for the San Francisco 49ers when Deion Sanders joined the team in 1994. "Let’s make no mistake about it: we were already good," Hanks said. "We were a Super Bowl-caliber team." Sanders made them better, helping to lift the 49ers to a victory in Super Bowl XXIX during his one season with the team. "Deion pulled off two things," Hanks told BuffZone in a recent interview. "He was humble, but he was transformative in his approach to the 49ers, because the 49ers at that time were very much stoic, very businesslike and Deion added more fun, more flair to that team and that’s what that team needed at the time.