If Shedeur Sanders finally ends the Cleveland Browns’ 30-plus-year search for a franchise quarterback, they may have President Donald Trump to thank.
At a press briefing on Monday morning, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt whether President Trump deserves credit for the Browns ending Sanders’ draft slide by selecting the Colorado quarterback in the fifth round on Saturday and if being drafted by Cleveland was a better outcome than going undrafted would have been. And as she fought through laughter — along with the rest of the press corps — Leavitt didn’t explicitly take credit on behalf of the White House, but did say there was enough there to connect the dots.
“All I will say is the president put out a statement and a few rounds later, he was drafted,” Leavitt said. “So I think the facts speak for themselves on that one.”
That statement Leavitt was referring to was initially issued on Friday, hours after Deion Sanders’ son went undrafted through Thursday night’s first round. Taking to his Truth Social platform, the 45th and 47th president took issue with Shedeur Sanders’ fall in the draft after he was previously projected to be a first-round pick.
“What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” President Trump asked. “Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness. He should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!”
Despite Trump’s statement, Shedeur Sanders remained undrafted through the second and third rounds on Friday night before the Browns finally ending his free fall during Saturday’s fifth round.
“A few rounds later,” as Leavitt stated, might technically be accurate, but it’s effectively an eternity within the larger context of the draft. That, however, won’t stop the Trump administration from taking — or at least implying — credit, especially if Sanders proves to be the steal of the 2025 NFL Draft.