Shedeur Sanders Prank Callers Facing Backlash After New Video Released
Shedeur Sanders' long wait to be drafted mercifully ended with the 144th overall pick on Saturday, when the Cleveland Browns selected him in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
His unexpected slide may have ended there, but the damage from Thursday and Friday could not be undone. In fact, it got even worse on Saturday when a new video emerged of the brutal prank call Sanders received while he was waiting to be drafted.
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In a video posted by Deion Sanders Jr. on Friday, it was revealed that some internet pranksters fooled the Colorado Buffaloes quarterback prospect — who was projected before the draft to be a first-round pick — by calling him on a private number and impersonating a member of the New Orleans Saints organization telling him he was going to be drafted.
The pranksters succeeded in getting Sanders' hopes up, but after realizing the ruse, the 23-year-old responded with great maturity.
"Nobody got that number but coaches, strictly for that reason," Sanders said. "Why get mad... They want you to have a certain type of reaction."
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) talks to ESPN after the University of Colorado NFL Showcase at the CU Indoor Practice Facility.Michael Ciaglo-Imagn Images
It turned out that the trolls were seeking more than just a reaction from Sanders. They inexplicably posted the full video of the prank to an anonymous account on X around noon on Saturday as Day 3 of the draft began, showing their faces as they made the call.
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Fans delivered extreme backlash to the perpetrators of the joke, taking Sanders' side amid his publicly embarrassing draft experience.
"Imagine releasing this thinking people are going to laugh with you," wrote a response on X.
"Now hopefully the internet does what it does and traces them to the coach that gave that number away to be pranked, so that coach can be fired," said a reply with more than 2,000 likes. "This is cruel (expletive) even if you feel Shedeur is being humbled, you don't kick a man while he's down."
"These (expletive) are the low of the low," said another disgusted fan. "They havent accomplished anything so far in life so they try and mess with someone else's dream! Garbage!"
"Not a Sanders fan at all and was enjoying the fall in the draft, but now I find myself hoping he puts in the work and is good in the league," one X user wrote. "This prank ain't it and they probably made a huge mistake releasing this video."
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Related: Shedeur Sanders' Fall in NFL Draft Draws Big Admission from Brother Shilo
Related: Russell Wilson's Sudden Change in Behavior After Giants Draft Jaxson Dart
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