Call Mounts for Deion Sanders To Sue NFL for $40 Million After Shedeur Sanders’ Draft Saga

“Let’s get ready to go to work and prove all the people who passed on you wrong.” Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry’s message to Shedeur Sanders was clear. After two and a half days of misery, one prank call, and an unprecedented draft slide (probably the largest in the NFL in a long time), the 22-year-old was finally getting to enter the big league. But a fifth-round induction had repercussions far more serious than meets the eye. For one, a chance for detractors to laugh and say “We told you so!”. And then there’s the ultimate price the young phenom will pay…

For starters, Sanders will reportedly make way less than what he earned from his NIL Collective—we’re talking about a $6.5 million to $1 million per year slide (which is even lesser than what his peers earn still playing for the Colorado Buffaloes). And if that’s not bad enough… Picture this: The 2025 NFL Draft’s No. 1 pick Cam Ward is set to make $48.8 million, including a $32.2 million signing bonus, while his opponent, who was once projected to be a first-round pick, will make a staggering $47 million less than that, with no guaranteed money and a $446,553 signing bonus, according to Sportrac.

No wonder, the community seems ticked off. First, it was the Sanders family’s ride-or-die Michael Irvin who highlighted how much the NFL has wronged the 23-year-old. In a video dated April 27, the veteran angrily remarked, I think the crime—the $40 million robbery—that just took place of Shedeur Sanders. Or should I say, I think the crime—the $50 million robbery—of Shedeur Sanders…in the fifth round and after all the quarterbacks…That math ain’t mathing…I can’t believe the number of people that are happy with watching this kid fall. Y’all got to stop [this] crazy stuff…You just robbed this young man of $50 million. And it wasn’t on his playing ability. Shame on you!”

And now, adding his voice to the growing calls is motivational speaker Umar Johnson aka Dr. Umar. As posted by The Art Of Dialogue on X on April 30, the caption read, “Dr. Umar tells Deion Sanders to sue the NFL collusion, and get back the $40 million plus that Shedeur Sanders lost on Draft Day.” In the shared clip, the motivational speaker was also heard saying, “I stand in solidarity with the Sanders family over this because this is wrong. And whether it’s Shannon Sharp or Carmelo Anthony or Shedeur Sanders, an attack on any black man is an attack on every black man. This was wrong. And I’m hoping that Deion and Shedeur will sue the NFL for racial discrimination and collusion against Shedeur on draft day. This ain’t the end of this, Art. They need to sue.”

In addition, Dr. Umar further pushed the Sanders duo, saying, “Do not let this go, Deion. Do not let this go, Shedeur. Do not let this go. Because guess what, Art? What better karma could Shedeur get from this than to sue the NFL and get all 40-plus million dollars back that they robbed from him on draft day? Think about it, Art. If he sues and wins, he will get all of the 40-plus million dollars they robbed from him on draft day. And he can change the rules to make sure this never happens again.”

Dr. Umar knows Deion Sanders isn’t exactly known for activism, like Muhammad Ali or Colin Kaepernick, but in his eyes, this moment calls for it. To him, this wasn’t just a snub – it was unacceptable, “because what they did to your son was unacceptable.” And hence, he’s urging them to take a stand. No doubt, what happened with Sanders is really surprising, but if we revisit some early hints, we might know the reason behind it.

Notably, this comes days after Browns’ GM Berry had said, “We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft. Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot.”

Top Comment by robtalia

Entitled. That is the word that comes to mind when I think of Sanders and his downfall in the draft....more

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But, while allegations of a conspiracy against the Sanders clan have been on the rise, there are also many that vehemently denied it. Like former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Cris Carter who said, “There was not a collusion message with the NFL owners. Because they wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that.”

Instead, the veteran placed the blame squarely on the Sanders family, and how Shedeur’s personality led to his decline. As per Carter, no team would like a person as the face of a franchise who seems more concerned about his outfit or his “hundred grand” necklace before a team interview. “Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand,” Carter said. “Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning, they didn’t play that right. Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn’t do right.”

Even sportscaster Dan Patrick also had the same thing to say: “Do I think this is a league-wide conspiracy, do I think it’s collusion? I don’t because the NFL is cutthroat…”

So, if there was indeed to conspiracy to drag Deion Sanders’ son down, was…

Shedeur Sanders’ attitude issue the major reason?

Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide hit like a gut punch. Just months ago, folks had him pegged as a top pick. But when his name kept getting passed over, people started talking. According to the reports, he didn’t bring the right energy in interviews, especially with teams he didn’t care to join. For instance, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones believed that Sanders “more or less sandbagged” interviews, as he said, “I don’t know if he didn’t take them seriously, what it was, but he did not give it his all in some of those interviews.” Not only that!

To make it worse, Sanders skipped the Combine, too. He didn’t throw, didn’t run, and just talked about being a game-changer, reminding everyone how he flipped Jackson State and Colorado. That rubbed some execs the wrong way. Some called it confidence. Others called it entitlement.

Then there was the agent talk. Shedeur Sanders didn’t have one – just his dad, Deion. And that sparked more whispers. So, did teams hesitate because of Prime’s bold personality? Whatever the reason, the young kid had to wait until pick 144. The Cleveland Browns finally made the call. It wasn’t where he expected to land, but the moment came. So, instead of sulking, the kid danced, smiled, and jumped straight into a pool. But will it be his last dance?

His fans hope that Sanders achieves big in the league whenever he gets the chance.