Playing a game of Chicken with the NFL is a risky move, especially if you’re driving a Tesla while your opponent is operating a semi-truck.

On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the most talked-about 144th pick in the history of the NFL Draft was selected — Shedeur Sanders. Of all the wild, awful, and inhumane things (race-norming, turning a blind eye to violence against women, blackballing players, etc.) the NFL has been involved with in just the last 15 years, it’s astonishing that Deion Sanders’ son is the thing that caused unified fury.

However, it proves how polarizing and captivating anything connected to Prime Time is — for the good and bad.

What happened to Sanders was not only wrong but also embarrassing. An extremely popular player was misjudged and inaccurately assessed as a quarterback with true first-round talent, which he never possessed. When the unexpected occurred, too many people chose to follow a convenient narrative instead of conducting their own research. This tendency is something we often witness in politics, particularly during Presidential elections.

The NFL is an institution that consistently demonstrates talent's superiority. When a player’s talent is below a certain level, the league will find reasons to draft them later rather than sooner.

This weekend’s events symbolized a corporation informing an obnoxious applicant that their job offer had been delayed due to how poorly they interviewed.

“If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me,” is what Sanders audaciously said to teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

There’s power in the tongue. You reap what you sow.

“You gotta come in and work, and you gotta come in and compete. That’s the message. Nothing is given,” is what Cleveland Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said about Sanders.

If your new boss is subtly and openly questioning your work ethic and your competitiveness before you even walk in the door, that’s on you. And in case you were wondering, Berry is one of the few Black GMs in the NFL. He already understands the “you have to work twice as hard” mantra that Black folks are forced to live by.

However, it would be obtuse for someone like me to ignore the optics of how this played out for Sanders.

A confident Black quarterback was humbled by a league operated by right-leaning white owners.

Racial undertones were definitely a factor, and the NFL deserves criticism for that, as the league has not earned the benefit of the doubt on this issue. However, it would also be unfair of me to ignore the fact that the Sanders family contributed to this situation themselves. This wasn’t “buck breaking” or a repeat of what happened to Colin Kaepernick. It was just one terrible decision followed by another.

“It’s certain cities where, it ain’t gon’ happen,” is what Deion Sanders previously declared about who his son would play for in the NFL.

“There are teams I won’t allow him to play for,” he added in a different interview.

“I love what the @Browns have done this offseason but if im a young QB ain’t no way im going to Cleveland,” Deion prophetically tweeted back in 2018.

The lead-up to the draft was chaotic for the Sanders family, largely due to Deion's mismanagement from the beginning. Shilo Sanders even took to social media to express his frustrations, stating, “Dad was our agent, but that hasn’t been working out too well. So today, I had to sign with a new agent.” The former Colorado defensive back was serious — he ended up signing with Drew Rosenhaus after going undrafted.

Deion Sanders' aspirations fell short because his ego led him to believe he could be someone he wasn’t. In 2004, Eli Manning and his father, Archie, made it clear that Eli would not join the San Diego Chargers. He refused to play for the team that was set to draft him. The Mannings got their way when the Chargers selected Eli with the No. 1 pick and subsequently traded him to the New York Giants, where he ultimately won two Super Bowls.

It seems likely that the Sanders family was hoping to achieve something similar. This comparison is a slippery slope for those who believe the situations are equivalent. It's also a terrible hill to die on in support of the Sanders family.

Archie Manning was a former NFL quarterback with a really good career who had already produced Peyton, as Eli was the number one pick that year. Deion is one of the best players in the history of the NFL. However, he didn’t have a son who was already a proven commodity in the league like Archie had. And neither of his sons has ever been regarded as such, in terms of prospects. Archie Manning produced two No. 1 overall picks. Deion Sanders produced the 144th pick and a son who will be in a fight to make it through training camp with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

“You want it to be one way. But it’s the other way.” — Marlo Stanfield (The Wire)

It's important to note that before Shedeur arrived at Jackson State, he was committed to Florida Atlantic, where he would have had to compete for a spot on the depth chart. He was never viewed as an elite prospect that schools were eagerly pursuing. However, once his father accepted the head coaching position in Mississippi, Shedeur was given the starting quarterback role without facing any competition. The same situation occurred when the Sanders family moved on to Colorado.

“This is your quarterback,” Deion told the players at Colorado about Shedeur, minutes after he finished his introductory press conference.

While the Sanders were at Colorado, the team compiled a 13-12 record as they were 0-3 in every bowl game that they appeared in. Their last game together — along with Heisman winner Travis Hunter — was humiliating. They lost to BYU 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl. It was 27-0 midway through the third quarter.

The 2025 Draft will always be remembered for what happened to Shedeur Sanders. Some of the blame lies with the league, a significant portion is on the Sanders family, but the majority falls on the fans, media members, and evaluators who misjudged Shedeur. It's not as if we've never seen confident quarterbacks — both Black and white — get drafted before. However, every player often compared to Shedeur due to their charisma has had résumés and accomplishments that Shedeur could only aspire to.

In recent months, the concept of fatherhood has become a prominent topic, particularly in the contexts of LeBron and Bronny James in the NBA, and Deion and Shedeur Sanders in football. The legacies of Bronny and Shedeur will always be intertwined with the actions and words of their fathers, which have influenced how they were drafted. This is why nepotism should not be seen as a system to aspire to. More often than not, it results in an unprepared individual being thrust into a role they may never be able to fulfill. The consequences of their struggles can leave lasting internal scars that they will have to endure alone.

Bronny James is gradually demonstrating why his father and the Lakers have faith in him. In the upcoming weeks and months, Shedeur Sanders will have a similar opportunity. It is up to him to define who he will become.

The Cleveland Browns have a mess of a Quarterbacks Room — that’s led by Deshaun Watson of all people. And since the NFL made Shedeur Sanders wait so long to hear his name called, they might as well get their money’s worth and put the Browns on HBO’s Hard Knocks. They created this spectacle, so they might as well air it.