AUSTIN -- Prime Time is back in the game, this time as part owner of an Arena Football League franchise.

Former Pro Bowl cornerback Deion Sanders and the Austin Wranglers announced Wednesday that Sanders has joined the ownership group of the team.

"I look at this as a challenge. I think all men thrive on a challenge," he said. "I love Arena football. It's exciting." Sanders wouldn't detail what his role with the team will be, but promised he will be visible in the Austin area and joked he could put on his pads again.

"I'm going to be the first owner who has the capability of actually going downstairs and playing," he said. "Tell Jerry (Jones) to do that. Tell Dan Snyder to do that."

Sanders, 38, was a seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback in a 15-year career. Sanders said he has dreamed of owning a professional franchise.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B6.