Shedeur Sanders was the victim of a prank call Friday during his wait to be drafted by an NFL team. That wait has now extended to over two days and three rounds for a player who had expectations of being selected on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
“This is Mickey Loomis here, (general manager) of the Saints. It’s been a long wait, man. We’re gonna take you with our next pick right here, man,” the caller said, captured on video by Well Off Media, a YouTube channel run by Deion Sanders Jr., Shedeur’s older brother.
“Yes sir, let’s be legendary,” Sanders said.
“But you’re gonna have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that,” the caller said before hanging up.
Shedeur Sanders had a large party awaiting his selection in the first round Thursday night, but by Friday night, a much smaller group, mostly composed of family, hung around his father Deion Sanders’ home in Canton, Texas, outside Dallas.
Shedeur Sanders was mostly confused because the phone he received the call on was acquired a day early, and the contact information was only given to NFL teams.
“Nobody has that number but coaches, strictly for that reason. Why get mad? They want you to have a certain type of reaction to it,” Sanders told his brother on the video. “They want you to feel bad. But I ain’t trippin’.”
A few minutes later, the Saints made their actual selection, taking Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th pick.
Deion Sanders, watching on a sofa outside his home, shook his head.
“Wow,” he said. “Wow.”
Shedeur Sanders spent much of the night with his older brother, defensive back prospect Shilo Sanders who he played alongside for two seasons at Jackson State and two more at Colorado.
Sanders, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, also had his No. 2 jersey retired at Colorado during the Buffaloes’ spring game last Saturday. He was widely projected as a first-round pick but has yet to be selected entering Saturday, the final day of the draft which hosts rounds 4-7.
“I know what’s going on,” Deion Sanders said on the video, adding that he had hope and trusted God. “This is to the point now where it’s like ‘Hey man, y’all gotta stop.’”
On Saturday morning, Shedeur Sanders posted on X: “Another day another opportunity to get a chance to play the game I love.”
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
