Colorado football coach Deion Sanders will be happy with whatever team selects his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, in the 2025 NFL Draft. Deion, who implied in March he would advise Shedeur to avoid certain franchises, said that will no longer be the case during an interview with Skip Bayless on Thursday.
Bayless invoked the Manning family in the interview, and asked Deion if he wanted his son to play in New York. Deion responded by saying he would be happy with whatever NFL team selected Shadeur in 2025.
“Honestly, Shadeur has told me, he’s talked to me intently about all the visits he’s had with all the teams, so I know where his heart is, I know where he wants to go. If it’s New York, it’s New York. If it’s Tennessee, if it’s Cleveland, if it’s still the Raiders, if it’s New Orleans, if it’s any of those teams that are seeking a quarterback, I’m happy with it. Because I know what he’s going to do to the organization.”
Bayless eventually followed up by asking if Deion would try to “orchestrate” which team selected Shadeur. Deion said that won’t be the case.
“No, because that’s not God’s will right now. I want Shadeur to do what he’s consistently done, excel against all odds. I like the hating, I like the naysaying, I like the ignorance, because it makes us feel better about what we do. It gives him another chip on his shoulder.”
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Invoking the Manning family was an intentional choice by Bayless. In March, Deion said both Shedeur and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter would refuse to play for certain NFL teams. Deion said, “It’s going to be an Eli” when referencing how both players would approach the draft.
Eli Manning, who was the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, famously refused to play for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers — then known as the San Diego Chargers — held the top pick in the draft, but the Manning family did not want Eli to play for the franchise.
The Chargers wound up taking Eli with the top pick, but traded him to the New York Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers, who the Giants selected No. 4 overall. The deal worked out for both teams. Manning won two Super Bowls with the Giants and Rivers broke a number of franchise records with the Chargers.
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Shadeur is expected to be one of the first players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. The three teams picking at the top of the draft — the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Giants — are all in need of quarterbacks, and Shadeur is an enticing prospect.
While the Eli Manning threat may not have discouraged any of those teams from selecting Shadeur, Deion’s comments Thursday should come as a massive sigh of relief to any team considering taking Shadeur in the first round.
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