A devoted Shedeur Sanders fan filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NFL following the quarterback’s low draft selection.
After Shedeur, 23, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft’s fifth round on April 26, the fan claimed he suffered “immediate frustration” followed by “emotional distress and trauma … as a fan and consumer” due to the selection failing to occur earlier, per a report by The Independent on Monday, May 5.
Per the outlet, the 55-year-old fan, who filed the lawsuit as “John Doe” allegedly “on the condition his real name not be published,” explained his stance in the filing. “This guy was projected to be the first or second pick, no later than the top five, and to watch mediocre players be chosen before him… it was frustrating,” Doe wrote.
The filing continued, “And to have all the NFL owners collude and not draft him, it was mentally frustrating and debilitating. For them to believe that they can just do this and there’s no recourse, it has to stop.”
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The outlet noted that Doe, who is representing himself in court, claimed to have no personal connection to Shedeur and alleged that the NFL “violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. They claimed that team owners unfairly conspired “to influence the drafting process… [and] to restrain trade and limit competition within the league.””
Shedeur, a former University of Colorado, Boulder quarterback and the son of football legend Deion Sanders, was the talk of this year’s NFL Draft. He was passed over in the first round and it wasn’t until the fifth round that he heard his name called.
Before Shedeur was drafted, Deion, 57, weighed in on the surprise that his son was not chosen in the first round despite wide-spread hype.
“My bible says God uses the foolish things to confound the wise & he chose the weak things of the world that he may put to shame the strong!” Deion wrote via X on Friday, April 25. “Please know God ain’t done & God is just really getting started. Enjoy this lesson & stop stressing. #CoachPrime.”
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Shedeur, for his part, acknowledged that his family “didn’t expect this” in a post shared from his family home in Texas, where the clan watched the NFL draft rather than attend the ceremony in-person in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Following Shedeur’s selection by the Browns, a 2018 social media post shared by Deion that criticized the Browns resurfaced and circulated online. “I love what the Browns have done this offseason, but if I’m a young QB, ain’t no way I’m going to Cleveland. I would pull a ELI MANNING if possible,” Deion wrote via X that year, adding the hashtag “#Truth.” (Eli Manning was famously selected by the San Diego Chargers as the No. 1 draft pick in 2004 but refused to play for them and was subsequently sent to the New York Giants.)
Shedeur also made headlines earlier this year through his involvement in an April prank phone call placed by Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son, Jax Ulbrich. Jax, 21, posed as a member of the New Orleans Saints, offering Shedeur a fake spot on the team at the time.
Jax publicly apologized for the prank via Instagram on April 27, however both Jax and his father were fined by the NFL as a result.
