Leon Sandcastle

Leon Sandcastle is a fictional character, depicted as a disguise for Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. The Sandcastle character was created for an NFL Network commercial. Sandcastle first appeared in a Super Bowl commercial in 2013. The commercial depicted Sanders suggesting he could still play at a level higher than the rookies in the 2013 NFL Draft and deciding to make a comeback. He dons an afro, assumes the impromptu alias "Leon Sandcastle" and enters the draft, going through the full NFL Scouting Combine. For action shots, Ball State cornerback Andre Dawson served as the stunt double. The commercial features Sandcastle being drafted 1st overall in the draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. A voiceover then instructs viewers to watch NFL Network for offseason and draft coverage, noting in deadpan at the end that "the next rookie sensation probably won't be Leon Sandcastle."

Despite not being an actual prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft, several combine videos have been created. The most prominent of these videos is Sandcastle's "4.2 40 yard dash." The NFL also created a "Combine Profile" for Sandcastle, as they do with actual prospects. In Rich Eisen's 2013 annual 'Run Rich Run' event, Sandcastle appeared giving tips to Eisen. Sandcastle's combine profile reveals that Sandcastle attended Primetime University. The commercial had a positive social media response as "Leon Sandcastle" was trending on Twitter worldwide, shortly after the commercial's airing. Sandcastle was also put into Madden NFL 13 as a card in the 'Ultimate Team' game mode. For April Fools' Day, 2013, NFL.com reported that Sandcastle would be the Chiefs' first overall selection.

The character developed marketing value and continued to appear in headlines, such as a fake endorsement deal with Under Armour and continued to make other appearance at NFL events. Sandcastle also had football trading cards produced and inserted into products by Topps and Panini America.