In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Deion Sanders has opinions, but not as a former champion.

The Father, Deion, has previously called out the Cleveland Browns for his son, Shedeur’s mismanagement. And now, he has accused an ESPN reporter of “sabotaging” his son.

In his appearance on This is Football! hosted by Kevin Clark, Deion pointed out that Clark spoke about Shedeur unfavorably before the 2025 draft and alluded that is the reason he was picked in the fifth round. 

After Clark recalled that he hosted Shedeur on the show last year, around the same time, Deion chipped in to say it did not help him at all.

“Yeah, it didn’t help. It didn’t help in the draft when you had him on the show last year. It didn’t help,” he repeated.

“You were probably one of the ones that k***** him. Did you sabotage my son?” Deion asked Clark, who was visibly caught off guard.

Shedeur, a Colorado Buffaloes quarterback and Deion’s former player, was expected to be a first-round prospect. The 24-year-old had a 6.30 prospect grade and was expected to become a starter eventually. 

But he slipped to the fifth round unexpectedly and was drafted as the 144th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. Salt to injury, he was the Browns’ QB 6 and watched fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel play for the first 10 weeks.

Their exchange created an awkward environment where a passive-aggressive Deion stood firm that no one saw Clark’s tweet praising his son. 

Clark was left fumbling and insisted that he retweeted the post, which “went viral,” as Deion refused to agree.

“You told me he was kind, he was wonderful. You didn’t tell that to no body. Nobody saw it. So when they were murdering his character, did you retweet it?” questioned Coach Prime.

Deion Was Referring to the Media Chatter Surrounding Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur made a lot of buzz for his statements and demenor which were not followed by riveting performances. According to Tom Pelissero, an NFL coach did not enjoy talking to Shedeur during the pre-draft interview. 

“The worst formal interview I've ever been in in my life,” the coach said anonymously. 

The NFL insider himself opined that Shedeur had a lot of misplaced confidence in himself after he asked the Ravens not to pick him.

“He seemed to feel he was an elite category where he could choose the few teams he wanted to go to,” Pelissero said.

Following his infamous mime interview after Gabriel was announced QB1, Shedeur was criticised by many for his behaviour. And Jason McCourty was one of them. The Super Bowl champion and analyst said, “You've got to grow up in the league.”

Shedeur’s personality and language were compared to his father's. But unlike Deion, a Hall of Famer, Shedeur scraped by with only seven touchdowns for 1,400 yards. He threw 10 interceptions in eight games.

With the Browns revamping themselves in their offseason, Shedeur has hinted at an improved approach for next year. What do you think of Deion’s statements?

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das