Deion Sanders admitted that it was a "healthy" experience watching his son Shedeur from the sidelines instead of coaching him after the Cleveland Browns rookie won his first career start
20:47 ET, 25 Nov 2025Updated 20:47 ET, 25 Nov 2025
Deion Sanders
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Deion Sanders was in attendance to watch the Cleveland Browns face the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend(Image: Getty Images)
NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is currently the head coach of the Colorado football team, but he was in attendance for an NFL game over the weekend.
Sanders watched his son, Shedeur Sanders, win his first career professional start with the Cleveland Browns, completing 11 of his 20 passes for 209 yards in a 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Sanders showed his true colors with a "money's different" comment after the game.
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Deion Sanders spent the previous four years as Shedeur's coach at both Jackson State and Colorado, helping his son blossom into one of the most talented passers in the country. He called the experience of watching — instead of coaching — Shedeur from the sidelines "healthy". Sanders later sent a four-word message to his doubters after the game.
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"That’s the first time I’ve ever watched him play without me on the sideline,” Sanders said in a press conference on Tuesday. “I’ve never seen him play without me coaching him, so that was strange."
"It was good, and it was healthy because I was just in straight dad mode. I wasn’t in coach mode, and I loved that I was able to see him gain the first victory.”
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Shedeur Sanders became the 42nd Browns signal caller to start since 1999. He threw a touchdown and an interception as part of a performance that featured an impressive deep throw to rookie wideout Isiah Bond.
Deion watched the game from the Raiders' owners' box. “The owner of the opposing team allowed the dad of the quarterback on the opposing team to sit in his box,” Sanders added in his presser. “Like how many times did that happen? Like, that is unbelievable, man. So I’m so thankful and appreciative for that opportunity in that moment.”
Shedeur Sanders
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Shedeur Sanders played well against the Raiders(Image: Getty Images)
Shedeur entered last week against the Baltimore Ravens in the second half after starter Dillon Gabriel went down with a concussion. For Sanders, his ascent to the starting spot marks a sharp rise: he entered training camp as the team's fourth-string option.
"It’s amazing, you know, off of one week of practice. This is one week of practice," Sanders said post-game. "So, imagine what a full offseason would look like. It gets dangerous. But it’s just one week of practice, so I’m truly thankful that everything happened."
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He did enough to earn coach Kevin Stefanski's trust for next week, despite Gabriel returning to health, against the San Francisco 49ers. "Shedeur will start this week," he said.
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"Obviously, the No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win. So excited to get that first win under his belt. Next thing is improvement, that's what young players do. Certainly, young quarterbacks do. You get one game better, and that's just from working at it. That will be our focus."