Shocking ESPYS Controversy: Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders Face Explosive Accusations Live on Stage

“Shedeur Sanders, now with the Cleveland Browns, actually went 13-11 as starting quarterback at Colorado across the 2023 and 2024 seasons while playing for his father Deion, Colorado’s head coach. But he is considered possibly the best quarterback in school history after breaking over 100 school records and reviving a program that went 1-11 in 2022, the season before he arrived,” Schrotenboer wrote.

“The decision to retire his jersey number still was controversial, partly because it came less than four months after his last college game in the Alamo Bowl against BYU, which he lost, 36-14.Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders and his son, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, caught a stray during the 2025 ESPYS for the pair’s supposed display of nepotism in Boulder over the last few years.Well, isn’t this a spicy little nugget straight from the heart of Boulder? Deion Sanders and his son Shedeur — once just a dynamic football duo on the field — found themselves tangled in the ever-controversial web of nepotism talk at the 2025 ESPYS. The spotlight wasn’t exactly kind this time around, as host Shane Gillis lobbed a somewhat clumsy jab, skewing Shedeur’s record and slyly questioning the merits behind retiring his jersey so swiftly. Now, here’s the kicker: while Shedeur’s accomplishments are nothing to sneeze at—breaking records and resurrecting a struggling Buffaloes program—the timing and choice to honor him before legends like Darian Hagan has sparked quite the debate. It’s a classic tale of legacy, loyalty, and the messy business of sports fame clashing with tradition. Trust me, this isn’t just about stats and trophies—it’s about what we value in sports heroes, past and present. And oh, it’s a story that’s far from over… LEARN MOREGillis just brought the issue back into the limelight, leading to Schrotenboer putting Hagan into the spotlight in the ESPYS’ immediate aftermath.Hagan shared dismay at CU’s decision to retire Sanders and Travis Hunter’s numbers before his.As USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer pointed out, Sanders is considered the best QB the University of Colorado Boulder has ever seen. However, his number being retired before championship-winning signal-caller Darian Hagan is controversial.“The decision also seemed to overlook other all-time Colorado greats, especially former Colorado quarterback Darian Hagan, who led Colorado to the national championship in 1990 and had a 28-5-2 record as QB. By contrast, Hagan’s jersey number never was retired by Colorado.”In an extremely roundabout way, the joke was a win for everyone involved. You know “Prime Time” is happy for the mention, even if it didn’t have the purest of intentions.“Shedeur Sanders had his jersey number retired at Colorado this year, and people are saying it’s because of nepotism, because of his father, and it’s not. It’s because he went 13-12 over his career, and he almost won the Alamo Bowl,” Gillis prefaced before asking, “Definitely not nepotism, right?”ESPYS host Shane Gillis took an on-the-nose, punchline-less jab at the two, incorrectly listing Shedeur’s record with the Buffs and sardonically and rhetorically asking if it wasn’t nepotism that resulted in the “Grown QB” getting his number at CU retired in April.