Deion Sanders Says Son Shedeur Sanders & Travis Hunter Should Control Their Draft Fate

Deion Sanders has turned into a media superpower in his 15 months as the University of Colorado Boulder head football coach, and most recently made headlines commenting about the future of his son and other players in next year’s NFL Draft.

On the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Sanders said that he and his son and team quarterback Shedeur Sanders, as well as two-way star Travis Hunter, will have a say in their landing spot in the NFL.

“I know where I want them to go,” he said on the podcast. “So, it’s certain cities that ain’t going to happen. It’s going to be an Eli.”

Eli Manning was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the first overall pick in 2004 but refused to play for the team. The team was able to trade Manning later on the same night to the New York Giants, where the quarterback won two Super Bowls and finished with a Hall of Fame-worthy career. Manning responded to the comments made by Sanders on X in a playful fashion.

 

Like Manning and his father Archie, Sanders wants both Shedeur and Hunter to have the ability to pick where they go to play professionally, rather than the other way around. Manning was the most notable case of a player opting out of playing for a certain team, but if the two Colorado stars did the same it would make for massive headlines.

“There were certain cities that fit [for me],” Sanders said on the podcast about being drafted by the Falcons. “Atlanta fit, and I want that for my kids. All of them. I want the right fit. [Atlanta] was the first time I saw black people in positions of authority. It blew my mind. It was real in Atlanta. I had never seen anything like that in my life.”

A recent 2025 NFL Mock Draft from ESPN has Sanders as one of the top three quarterbacks, and Hunter as one of the top three cornerbacks set to be selected. In the 2023 season, Sanders threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions, while Hunter caught 57 passes for five touchdowns as well as bringing in five interceptions on defense. Sanders threw for the 25th most yards in the country while Hunter made the All-Pac-12 first team playing a majority of the team’s snaps.

Sanders has also said that he doesn’t want Shedeur or Hunter to play “anywhere cold.” In the podcast, he cited San Fransisco, Dallas, Baltimore and Washington all as possible landing spots for the current Buffaloes.

Though a college football coach, Sanders still holds a lot of power and sway in the NFL, and his comments could eventually become a reality. Both Sanders’ and Hunter’s draft stock has risen significantly since they arrived in Boulder, and will most likely continue to do so until the 2025 NFL Draft.

The NFL season is still months away so it is hard to get an idea of which teams will have a top pick next year, but it is safe to say that the draft status of Sanders and Hunter will be heavily discussed until then.