Deion Sanders had quite the proud dad moment after learning that his son Shedeur Sanders made the Pro Bowl in his first year in the NFL.
Shedeur was named to the Pro Bowl roster last month to replace Patriots star Drake Maye; he’ll join the likes of Bengals quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco in the AFC, who are replacing original selections Josh Allen and Justin Herbert.
Deion, for one, couldn’t be prouder of his son for his big-time achievement after just one season in the pros.
“My son did something that I didn't do,” Deion Sanders said on the latest episode of the We Got Time Today podcast with Rocsi Diaz. “He made the Pro Bowl in his first year. I made it in my third year. But he made it in his first year, so he's got that over me right now.
When asked how good it feels given Shedeur’s stunning fifth-round draft slide last April, Deion took the high road: “It’s not like an ‘I told you so moment,’ more like a ‘God is good’ moment. Like, ‘Y’all don’t understand what I’m on.’ Y’all don’t understand who got my back, y’all don’t understand who riding with me. Y’all don’t understand who’s propelling me. That’s what it is. And we like that.”
“As a father, you go into protection mode,” continued Deion. “Like okay, is this good, is this bad, how they gonna spin it, how they gonna flip it. Because most people don’t know, the major percentage is from the coaches and the players, their selection, then the fans get a smaller percentage of votes. Like 40-40-20. That has to be noted. ... It’s not just a fan thing. So how to package it, how to form it, what he needs to say about accepting the honor and all of that, all that is strategic. So you have to go into ‘Daddy Mode.’”
As the Buffaloes coach noted, Pro Bowl voting does break down into three groups, but the percentages are slightly different from what Deion laid out. Player selections are determined by the consensus votes of fans, coaches and players, with each group counting as one-third toward the final vote. This differs from the Associated Press’ All-Pro honor, which omits fan voting.
“The NFL screwed up when they gave the fans a vote,” an NFC coach texted Sports Ilustrated’s Gilberto Manzano. “The most popular guy on TikTok goes to the Pro Bowl now. When it was coaching and players voting, it meant a lot more.”
Whether Shedeur was a top alternate option or one farther down the list for the Pro Bowl, he’s set to appear in the star-studded exhibition with his head held high, having secured bragging rights in the Sanders household. Shedeur is the first fifth-round pick to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie since Rams’ Puka Nacua earned the honor in 2023. That said, Deion finished his 14-year Hall of Fame career with eight Pro Bowls, six All-Pro nods and two Super Bowl wins, so it’s safe to say Shedeur’s still got a lot of work ahead of him to rival his dad’s resumé.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
- Conor Orr Grades All 10 NFL Head Coaching Hires for 2026
- Ravens to Hire Anthony Weaver As Defensive Coordinator
- Sean McVay Explained Why He’s ‘Keeping His Fingers Crossed’ Over Matthew Stafford
- What You Need to Know About ESPN Purchasing NFL Network
- Bills GM Gives Defiant Interview Saying He Knew People Wouldn’t Like Joe Brady Hire
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Deion Sanders Says He Went Into ‘Daddy Mode’ After Shedeur Sanders’s Pro Bowl Nod.
