While Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was making his NFL debut on Sunday, November 16, his home was broken into, according to multiple reports.
It is not clear if anything was stolen from his home and no suspects have been identified, per ESPN.
The Browns lost on Sunday, 23-16, at home to the Baltimore Ravens. Sanders, 23, entered the game in the second half, replacing starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who was in concussion protocol.
Sanders, who has not yet spoken publicly about the reported burglary, struggled through a rough pro debut, in which he completed only four of 16 passes with an interception and two sacks. Despite Sanders’ struggles, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said the rookie would start Cleveland’s next game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, November 23, if Gabriel, 24, cannot clear protocol.
What NFL Stars Have Said About the String of Burglaries Targeting Players
The reported burglary was the latest in a string of similar incidents that have come at the expense of professional athletes.
Last December, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home was broken into while he was playing a Monday Night Football game. His reported girlfriend at the time, model Olivia Ponton, was at the home when police arrived on the scene. She told authorities that she noticed a “shattered bedroom window” and that a room had been “ransacked.”
“So obviously everybody has heard what has happened,” Burrow told reporters after the incident. “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. And way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share, so that’s all I got to say about that.”
Burrow, 28, added, “We live a public life and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy. And that has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. Still learning. But I understand it’s the life that we choose. Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”
4 Men Arrested in Connection With Robbery at Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s Home
Kansas City Chiefs stars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes were also victims of burglaries last season. Kelce’s home was broken into the day of the Chiefs’ 23-16 win over the New Orleans Saints on October 7, 2024, while the break-in at the Mahomes residence came the day before.
Kelce, 36, reported that $20,000 in cash was taken from his home.
The unfortunate trend spilled over into the NBA just weeks later when former Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic reported that $30,000 in jewelry was taken from his home.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III opened up about the string of burglaries in a December 2024 conversation with Us Weekly where he called on the NFL to do more to protect its players.
“I just think that, collectively, the NFL has to do something to protect the players’ homes while they’re not there,” he said. “The NFL has the power to do it. Yeah, it might cost them some money, but you gotta protect these players and their families when they’re not home.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters in December that the NFL has a program where security experts will come to players’ homes to help place cameras to protect against intruders.
“It’s something that we all think about from time to time,” he said. “You’re kind of exposed in that way. It seems like there’s a professional aspect to this where [the thieves] don’t care if there’s cameras on or an alarm set. They’re gonna get in and get out quickly.”
