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Cowboys icon slams NFL for ‘robbing’ Shedeur Sanders of $50m with father Deion accused of ‘overplaying hand’
Michael Irvin has accused the NFL of intentionally allowing Shedeur Sanders to slide. Coming into the 2025 Draft, the Colorado Buffaloes prospect was expected to be a first-round pick. Sanders slipped down to the fifth round of the NFL Draft last weekendGetty But as Day 1 unfolded, it quickly became clear that wouldn’t be the case. Sanders was not selected in round one on Thursday night. He wasn’t picked in the second, third or fourth rounds either, and was left sweating as the draft progressed through the weekend. Eventually, it was the Cleveland Browns who ended Shedeur’s all-time slide, selecting him with the 144th pick. There has been much discussion about why the quarterback fell so far, with some suggesting his pre-draft attitude put off potential suitors, while others claimed the NFL was working to ‘keep him out of the league’. Irvin, a three-time Super Bowl champion, appears to be siding with the latter suggestion. In fact, he believes the NFL cost Sanders $50million by allowing him to fall so far. At one point in time, the QB prospect was tipped by many to be taken third overall by the New York Giants. Had he done so, he could have made more than $40m from his rookie contract. In the end, the Giants opted for Abdul Carter, who will make $45.1m over four years. Sanders was once tipped to be a top pick, but was eventually taken 144th overallGetty Irvin believes Shedeur’s slide cost him $50mGetty Shedeur’s former Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, will also earn plenty of money. Having been drafted second overall, he is expected to sign a $46.5m rookie deal. Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 pick, is set to earn $48.7m. All of those contracts dwarf the $4.6m deal that Sanders is expected to sign, having slipped to the fifth round. “The $50m robbery of Shedeur Sanders, that’s what I’ve just witnessed,” Irvin began, breaking down the situation. “Everybody that has seen him play said he is one or two in this draft. “I love Cleveland picking this kid, early on. But I can be mad at Cleveland, because they played their cards and picked him up in the fifth round. While Irvin blamed the NFL for Sanders’ slide, a fellow Hall of Famer suggested it was Shedeur’s own doingGetty View Tweet: https://t.co/KdSxvJb2oQ “I surely would like to know how they knew he would still be there. I’ve been on that stage, for years and years. I’ve never seen them position cameras, and give them forewarning about who’s about to be drafted. “I wonder if Cleveland got a call from somebody in the NFL saying, ‘We’ve got to draft this kid. We’ve just robbed this young man of $50m’. “It wasn’t on his playing ability. Shame on you.” While Irvin has jumped to Sanders’ defense, fellow Hall of Famer Cris Carter argued that there was no ‘collusion’ to keep the 23-year-old out of the league. Instead, he pinned the blame on Shedeur’s family, suggesting they ‘overplayed their hand’ by trying to ‘narrow down’ potential landing spots. Last year, his father Deion suggested that ‘certain cities ain’t going to happen’ before later pulling back on that idea. “There was not a collusion message with the NFL owners,” Carter told The Fully Loaded Podcast. “They wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that… every owner is very, very selfish. Carter believes the Sanders family ‘overplayed’ their hand heading into the draftGetty “Why would I do something to my detriment, if I need a quarterback and I think this kid is it? “Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand. Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning. “Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn’t go right. Not working out the combine, that wasn’t the right thing. “His interview process — obviously, he could have done a lot better in that. A lot of people left that meeting and felt he was very, very entitled.” While Irvin and Carter disagreed on the cause of Sanders’ draft slide, they were in agreement when it came to how much money he has lost. “He threw away at least 30 to 50 million dollars,” Carter concluded. Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our NFL Facebook page, subscribe to our talkSPORT End Zone YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.
Michael Irvin has accused the NFL of intentionally allowing Shedeur Sanders to slide.
Coming into the 2025 Draft, the Colorado Buffaloes prospect was expected to be a first-round pick.
But as Day 1 unfolded, it quickly became clear that wouldn’t be the case.
Sanders was not selected in round one on Thursday night.
He wasn’t picked in the second, third or fourth rounds either, and was left sweating as the draft progressed through the weekend.
Eventually, it was the Cleveland Browns who ended Shedeur’s all-time slide, selecting him with the 144th pick.
There has been much discussion about why the quarterback fell so far, with some suggesting his pre-draft attitude put off potential suitors, while others claimed the NFL was working to ‘keep him out of the league’.
Irvin, a three-time Super Bowl champion, appears to be siding with the latter suggestion.
In fact, he believes the NFL cost Sanders $50million by allowing him to fall so far.
At one point in time, the QB prospect was tipped by many to be taken third overall by the New York Giants.
Had he done so, he could have made more than $40m from his rookie contract.
In the end, the Giants opted for Abdul Carter, who will make $45.1m over four years.
Shedeur’s former Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, will also earn plenty of money. Having been drafted second overall, he is expected to sign a $46.5m rookie deal.
Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 pick, is set to earn $48.7m.
All of those contracts dwarf the $4.6m deal that Sanders is expected to sign, having slipped to the fifth round.
“The $50m robbery of Shedeur Sanders, that’s what I’ve just witnessed,” Irvin began, breaking down the situation.
“Everybody that has seen him play said he is one or two in this draft.
“I love Cleveland picking this kid, early on. But I can be mad at Cleveland, because they played their cards and picked him up in the fifth round.
“I surely would like to know how they knew he would still be there. I’ve been on that stage, for years and years. I’ve never seen them position cameras, and give them forewarning about who’s about to be drafted.
“I wonder if Cleveland got a call from somebody in the NFL saying, ‘We’ve got to draft this kid. We’ve just robbed this young man of $50m’.
“It wasn’t on his playing ability. Shame on you.”
While Irvin has jumped to Sanders’ defense, fellow Hall of Famer Cris Carter argued that there was no ‘collusion’ to keep the 23-year-old out of the league.
Instead, he pinned the blame on Shedeur’s family, suggesting they ‘overplayed their hand’ by trying to ‘narrow down’ potential landing spots.
Last year, his father Deion suggested that ‘certain cities ain’t going to happen’ before later pulling back on that idea.
“There was not a collusion message with the NFL owners,” Carter told The Fully Loaded Podcast.
“They wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that… every owner is very, very selfish.
“Why would I do something to my detriment, if I need a quarterback and I think this kid is it?
“Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand. Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning.
“Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn’t go right. Not working out the combine, that wasn’t the right thing.
“His interview process — obviously, he could have done a lot better in that. A lot of people left that meeting and felt he was very, very entitled.”
While Irvin and Carter disagreed on the cause of Sanders’ draft slide, they were in agreement when it came to how much money he has lost.
“He threw away at least 30 to 50 million dollars,” Carter concluded.
Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our NFL Facebook page, subscribe to our talkSPORT End Zone YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.
