While Shedeur Sanders drew national attention with his arm and charisma, his older brother Shilo Sanders operated with less fanfare. A sixth-year safety at Colorado, Shilo entered the 2024 season as a returning starter but missed time early with an arm injury. He returned to appear in 10 games, finishing with 67 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, a defensive touchdown, and no interceptions. But on film, Sanders looked like a functional box safety. He was disciplined against the run, quick to diagnose underneath routes, and willing to deliver contact.

Still, his projection at the next level was murky. At Colorado’s 2025 pro day, Sanders clocked a 4.52 in the 40-yard dash and posted a 9-foot-5 broad jump—respectable marks, that weren’t enough to move him up boards already crowded with healthier, more explosive profiles. Past injuries didn’t help either. Nor did the absence of ball production. For a player whose last name is tied to defensive excellence, the numbers fell short of the narrative. The NFL Combine delivered another heartbreak failing to extend an invitation. In the end, across three days and 257 picks, his name was never called. How did he handle it?

In an YouTube Short by Fair Catch, Shilo was heard saying, “You don’t really know if you’re going to get the call or not. They just call randomly and be like, ‘Oh, we’re going to pick you next.’ So I didn’t get the call.“ Trying to find a way out of this situation, the player went to the one person he knew would have the answers. “So now my brain goes into like, Well, d–g. Let me go. Let me go with my dad.” While Coach Prime may have been the saving grace for his son during the difficult time, the latter was also forced to do something unexpected in the pursuit of a better future…

For the past week, one big piece of news coming from the Sanders household—besides the brothers’ NFL destinations—has found the community captivated: SHILO SANDERS FIRED HIS DAD! But how true is it? Well, hear it from the horse’s mouth itself.

“Everybody was laughing [because] I said I had to get a new agent, that I fired my dad,” Shilo said amusedly. But he never really meant it. “I didn’t fire him, bro,” he declared, setting the record straight during a livestream before Shedeur was even drafted by the Cleveland Browns. “Dad was our agent, but that hasn’t been working out too good. So today I had to sign with an agent,” he joked. But still, critics argue that Deion Sanders’ association was a factor behind their draft stock taking hits.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio added more fuel to the fire by saying, “Deion’s decision to serve as agent for both sons arguably did them a disservice.” Though it was apparent that Shilo was harmlessly joking, he did sign agent Drew Rosenhaus to bolster his rep.

Among the Sanders, a Rosenhaus emerged the hero!

Shortly after, the 25-year-old signed with Rosenhaus, a powerhouse agent known for his aggressive negotiations and deep NFL connections, it proved pivotal. Despite no initial interest from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his outreach changed the course of Shilo’s career. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht admitted that, after the draft, they hadn’t planned on signing Shilo, but Rosenhaus’ call prompted a reassessment: “After the draft, his agent reached out if we would be interested – Todd [Bowles] & I looked at each other, nodded & said ‘Yeah, let’s do it’.”

Shilo also talked about that special moment when he got the big news: “As soon as I walked out the room, the agent called me. He was like, ‘Hey, the Buccaneers, they got a contract for you bro’.” 

Evidently, the Sanders prodigies are in a world where their association with Coach Prime will not be much help. This is an era where the brothers will have to earn their keep, and build their legacies, while also carrying forward the family history. How do you think they’ll do?