Although Shedeur Sanders played his entire college football career under his father, Deion Sanders, he hasn’t often attended his father’s games since joining the NFL last year. However, when the Cleveland Browns quarterback appeared at the Colorado Buffaloes’ opening game of the 2026 season, it drew a heartfelt reaction from Deion.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“I’m a father. I think y’all forget that. Y’all say Coach [Prime]. Someone that has dealt with success in certain areas of life. But y’all forget that I’m a real, loving, and caring father, and that’s my son. So I feel it,” Deion said in a press conference on September 3. “For him, you know, get out of practice and make it to this game. I think he’s gonna fly back with us to spend a couple days. I love that man.
“I don’t know how many fathers are in here, but I love fatherhood. I wasn’t a father like I’m a father, so some people could take the wrong and keep it going wrong. Some people could take the wrong and make it right. I believe we’re making it right.”
While Deion is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Shedeur is heading into his second NFL season in 2026. So, the two have been on their separate ways lately and have been dealing with their respective problems and struggles.
Deion faced a health issue where he was diagnosed with high-grade bladder cancer in April 2025. It was an incidental discovery during a routine checkup. However, after undergoing a laparoscopic radical cystectomy at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, his cancer was cured.
But the physical recovery was grueling, which significantly took a toll on his mental health as well. Amid that, it also drew Deion closer to his children and drove a fighting spirit in him. On July 28, 2025, Coach Prime publicly announced that he has become cancer-free.
Shedeur Sanders has always been someone with whom Deion Sanders shared a strong father-son relationship. From mentoring Shedeur during his college career as the head coach at Jackson State (2021-2022) and Colorado (2023-2024) to defending him against the critics, Deion has been a supportive father.
“He’s gonna face haters like he’s always had,” Deion said about his son a few months back. “He’s not gonna face anything new that he hasn’t faced in the entirety of his life. He’s always been up against the eight ball. He’s always been really undervalued… and he always comes through.”
So, when Shedeur Sanders, whom Deion Sanders holds very deeply, pulled up on the sidelines during the Colorado Buffaloes’ 14–13 season-opening victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium, it made Coach Prime emotional.