“Hands are not clean in this”: Stephen A Smith fires bold shots at $45M worth Deion Sanders for Shedeur’s draft chaos

Shedeur Sanders was expected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the 2025 NFL draft. Many projections initially had him going in the top five picks. Instead, he fell to the fifth round, picked 144th by the Cleveland Browns. It shocked just about everyone.

So what happened? The answer, it seems, is less about Shedeur’s ability and more about the influence of his father, NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders (whose net worth is estimated to be $45 million according to Celebrity Net Worth).

Before the draft, Coach Prime made it known that there were certain teams he didn’t want his son playing for. In an interview on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, he said:

“I know where I want them to go. There’s certain cities where it ain’t going to happen.”

Coach Prime also told journalist Tamron Hall:

“There are teams I won’t allow him to play for.”

Some teams may have viewed these comments as interference. There were also reports that Shedeur didn't perform well in pre-draft interviews with some teams. One NFL assistant coach reportedly mentioned concerns about body language and a lack of openness to feedback.

Furthermore, the quarterback skipped big scouting events like the Senior Bowl and the NFL combine, and refused to meet with some teams. That may have hurt his image.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith appears to support this narrative, discussing it on Monday’s episode of “First Take” (Timestamp: 5:56):

“A lot of this was about Prime Time Deion Sanders. … There is no one, I repeat, no one that looked at Shedeur Sanders and even had him less than the third best quarterback in the draft. … This ain’t about football. This is about something else. … Prime Time Deion Sanders hands are not clean in this. Shedeur Sanders hands are not clean on this.

“If you go onto an interview and people thinking that you brash and arrogant and what have you and they think that they’re going to have a problem working with you, that’s partially on you. Prime Time Deion Sanders going out publicly and stating on the record, ‘There’s a couple of teams we might not want him with.’ … You can understand the reticence.”

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Deion Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, on his selection

After being selected in the fifth round, Shedeur Sanders showed visible relief and excitement during a Twitch livestream hosted by his brother, Shilo Sanders.

Speaking to the Cleveland media about his unexpected slide and landing with the Browns, Sanders said:

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, throughout everything. I don’t ever focus on the negative or even think about the negative, because the positive happened so fast.”

Sanders joins a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland. The Browns also drafted Dillon Gabriel and already have Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco on the roster.