Apr 4, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) talks to ESPN after the University of Colorado NFL Showcase at the CU Indoor Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ciaglo-Imagn Images / Michael Ciaglo-Imagn Images

Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter delivered a scolding hot plate of criticism to Shedeur Sanders, who Carter believes cost himself “at least” $30 million by slipping in the NFL draft.

What’s up for debate is why Sanders fell all the way to the 144th overall selection and five quarterbacks were taken before him. Some argue that Sanders fell because he was overhyped in the media compared to what NFL scouts thought of him, but Carter believes Sanders would’ve been a top-10 pick if he hadn’t allegedly bombed the pre-draft process.

“The No. 1 thing that didn’t happen was, there was not a collusion message with the NFL owners. They wouldn’t be able tot keep a secret like that,” Carter said on the Fully Loaded podcast. “Every owner’s very, very selfish. Now, why would I do something to my detriment? If I need a quarterback and I think this kid is it, what he didn’t realize is is the guy’s that have fallen in the draft before, they all had unusual traits. They had some superstar qualities to them. Some other things happened that made them fall, but Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand.

“Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning, they didn’t play that right. Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn’t do right. Not working out at the combine, that wasn’t the right thing. His interview process, obviously he could’ve done a lot better in that. A lot of people left that meeting and felt he was very, very entitled.”

Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings former receiver Jake Reed (86), defensive end Jared Allen (69) and receiver Cris Carter (80) sign autographs for youngsters during NFL flag football event at The Grove. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Carter didn’t appear to have first-hand information about Sanders coming across as entitled in meetings. Instead, he suggested that he wasn’t drafted and that spoke volumes because his college game tape makes it obvious that Sanders was a first-round talent.

“They don’t believe his talent is generational. They do believe that guys are more athletic and guys have bigger arms. And they do believe he’s been coddled. He’s been coached by Deion his whole life,” Carter said.

Above all, Carter thinks Sanders’ personality was a problem.

“You don’t play football all the time. You’re a human being the rest of the time. And how you’re going to be in the locker room, how he already came up with this line of merchandise — “Legendary” — like he’s already calling himself legendary. All those things are problems,” Carter reasoned.

Co-host Shawn Meaike then asked Carter if he thinks Sanders is “smart enough” to know he’s not at Jackson State and Colorado anymore.

“No,” Carter answered. “I listened to too many of his answers. I saw too many of the outtakes. I saw too many times he was working out with other players and he said things that I thought were highly questionable for my franchise quarterback.”

Carter referenced a viral video where Sanders and No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward talk about what they do in their free time, with Sanders saying he likes to rap and Ward saying he’s all about football.

“This whole thing with Deion and the media everything, it’s out of control. It did not help him. It helped him make money in college because he got followers, but it actually hurt him as far as him getting a job as an NFL quarterback,” said Carter.

“Let me tell you what he understands today: He ain’t running s***. Let me tell you what, they taught him a great lesson. Like, you don’t have this figured out. Your dad don’t have this figured out,” Carter continued. “You’re going for a job interview. So for this job interview, he was so concerned what his outfit was; his necklace was over $100 grand. He hadn’t even convinced people that you’re the face of our franchise. Matter of fact, he had convinced people that they were better off going in a different direction even with people who had lesser talent. That’s the rub he put on the people.”