In what’s already become one of the most talked-about NFL Draft sagas in recent memory, Shedeur Sanders finally heard his name called in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns—a stunning slide for a quarterback many projected as a first-round pick. But the twist? It may have taken a nudge from the most unlikely draft insider of them all: President Donald J. Trump.
During Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded a lighthearted question from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy about Trump’s outspoken reaction to Sanders’ draft plunge. The president, who had previously blasted NFL owners for passing on Sanders, suggested something fishy might be at play.
Doocy asked whether the president would be taking credit for Sanders finally being picked.
.@pdoocy on Shedeur Sanders: “Does the president think he deserves credit for Sanders getting picked? Does he think going to the @Browns is better than being un-drafted?@PressSec: “All I will say is the president put out a statement and a few rounds later he was drafted. So, I… pic.twitter.com/vSlZkA15gs
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 28, 2025
“All I will say is the president put out a statement, and a few rounds later, he was drafted,” Leavitt joked, prompting laughter from the press pool. “So, I think the facts speak for themselves.”
Of course, it was a tongue-in-cheek moment. But like most jokes, it carried a hint of truth.
Trump’s remarks weren’t subtle. After the third round came and went with no call for Sanders, Trump sounded off on Truth Social, calling the situation “disgraceful” and suggesting that the league was “playing games” with the son of Deion Sanders. Whether he was expressing frustration as a fan or applying pressure from the bully pulpit, Trump’s voice resonated through sports media and political circles alike.
Within 24 hours, Sanders was a Cleveland Brown.
Coincidence? Maybe. But the NFL, always sensitive to optics, certainly noticed the escalating public outrage—and perhaps even feared the growing whispers that race or personality politics were influencing team decisions. Even though no one in the Sanders family publicly echoed those claims, figures like Stephen A. Smith and Jamaal Bowman loudly did. By the time the draft entered Day 3, the story had shifted from where Shedeur would go to why he hadn’t gone yet.
