Shilo Sanders’s preseason debut was a pretty successful one.
In his first bit of NFL action, Sanders delivered a quarterback hit and completed a solo tackle as the Buccaneers took down the Titans, 29–7. As an undrafted training camp signee, Sanders is working hard to make the Tampa Bay roster, and performances like the one he put in against Tennessee is a good step in the right direction towards at least sticking around on the team’s practice squad.
But given that Sanders’s NFL future is by no means a guarantee, it might be best to make the most of the memories as they come. After the game, Sanders was asked if he might gift his father Deion his first NFL jersey.
Sanders laughed off the idea.
"He doesn’t want it," he said. "You know he's a Hall of Famer. He expects like 30 times more. I'm gonna give it to my mom though. … I gotta get like three picks for him to want it."
Shilo Sanders joked that he’s not gifting his first NFL jersey to his dad on his birthday because “he doesn’t want it (laughs). You know he’s a Hall of Famer. He expects like 30 times more. I’m gonna give it to my mom though. … I gotta get like three picks for him to want it.” pic.twitter.com/k0jEB6fUGH
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 10, 2025
Both Shilo and his brother Shedeur have embraced the high expectations of their Hall of Fame father as they get their first respective taste of life in the NFL.
In a similar situation, Shedeur told reporters that he didn’t want his dad showing up to Browns training camp until he had earned his spot higher up on the depth chart, and would later apologize to his pops even after what was by all means an impressive preseason debut.
Shilo clearly knows the struggle, but hey, get those three picks and then we’ll see how your dad feels about your jersey.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shilo Sanders Jokes About Why He Won’t Be Giving Dad Deion First NFL Jersey.
