BEREA, Ohio — It’s a sales pitch that was years in the making.
After Colorado football’s April showcase that featured the school’s draft prospects, coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told NFL Network why his son, QB Shedeur Sanders, was ready-made to handle NFL pressure and scrutiny.
"He’s been raised for this,“ ‘Coach Prime’ said about his son. ”When he gets on the next stage, he’s not going to faint and melt up on the scrutiny or opposition. He’s a Sanders dog. He’s built for this. We‘ve gone through this and he knows the trials and tribulations that he has to get through and get by."
Sanders’ first NFL trial though was an unexpected one, as a three-day-long draft slide had him fall into the fifth round. This was after many analysts projected him to be a high-first-round pick among several teams, including Cleveland, that needed quarterbacks.
Eventually it was the Browns that traded the Nos. 166 and 192 overall picks to move up to 144 and grab him.
And so far, at least outwardly, Sanders has lived up to that assertion made by his father, letting his draft-day slide and intense scrutiny that already surrounds him roll off his back.
“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong,” Sanders said. “I prove myself right. And I fully have self-belief and what those people say, that’s just their opinion. So I don’t truly care. They don’t really live in my mental space about that type of stuff. It really doesn’t do anything for me.”
So how did Sanders get to this point?
In large part, it is because he’s played for his dad for basically the entirety of his football life.
Deion Sanders took over the Jackson State program in 2020, and then was hired by Colorado in 2022. Shedeur was with him at both stops. Before that, Deion was Shedeur’s offensive coordinator in high school at Trinity Christian in Cedar Hill, Texas.
Cleveland Browns rookie minicamp, May 10, 2025
The celebrity has followed the father-son duo, both thanks to Deion’s legacy, and Shedeur’s success in the everchanging NIL landscape that dominates college football. The quarterback was starring in Gatorade commercials and gaining even more popularity through streaming and social media while he was still in school.
“I’d say he definitely gave us the spotlight to be able to do that,” Shedeur Sanders said of his dad. “So he gave us the opportunity. That’s all you could ask for in anybody’s job, in anybody’s profession, it’s just an opportunity to be given a chance. The rest after that is on you.
“So I’m taking every snap out there, I’m getting up after these hits. I’m the one throwing touchdowns. I’m the one that’s got to live it day by day.”
That philosophy seems to be the one driving Sanders the most.
But no, Sanders has certainly not shied away from celebrity. One of the most notable outlets he used throughout draft weekend was his brother Deion Jr.’s YouTube channel Well Off Media. His nickname and mantra is “Legendary,” and it’s emblazoned all over his house and clothes.
But it’s not all Sanders’ own doing at this point. He knows he’s going to draw eyeballs whether he puts his own content out into the world or not.
It’s why, with the help of his dad, he’s worked to prepare for that scrutiny he knew would ramp up once he got to the NFL.
“I study people, see how they handle certain things, see what they do, see different people’s tendencies when it’s going on," Sanders said.
But what does he mean when he says he studies people?
Because according to him, it’s deeper than just quarterbacks or NFL players.
“I’d say it’s just everybody in life, because people in life, they go through different challenges, but it’s similar,” Sanders continued. “So if it is a financial guy and his business crashes or something, how is he throughout those moments? Is he frantic? Is he out of character?”
As Sanders has observed, the answer to those last two questions is usually “no.”
It’s why, he says, he wasn’t outwardly any different as he fell to day three of the draft.
“You won’t ever really be able to tell when I’m frustrated and when I’m not feeling good or anything,” Sanders said. “Because I’ve watched even self-reflecting, years, even just on sidelines and stuff, I feel like I could have handled better situations because it was misunderstood by the masses, but I understood.
“But I don’t want anybody to form negative opinions about me and it’s something I could change. So I just took that type of leadership ability within myself to not give that vibe off or not give off that different type of aesthetic or negativity.”
There will be plenty of opinions out there about Sanders, positive or negative as he begins a QB competition that will also include third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. There’s only so much control Sanders will have of the media circus around him now and in the future. All he controls is what happens on the field.
But Sanders already knows all of that, and he’s got dad to thank.
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