Deion Sanders Rejected His Son's Thoughtful 58th Birthday Gift
It's a pretty good weekend to be Deion Sanders. The legendary football star and current Colorado head coach was brimming with pride, as both of his sons made their NFL debuts in the preseason.
Shedeur Sanders played quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, while his older brother Shilo suited up at defensive back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shedeur grabbed most of the headlines after an impressive debut outing, throwing for two touchdowns in a win over the Carolina Panthers.
Not to be outdone, Shilo came close to recording a sack as a blitzer off the edge, getting a huge hit on Tennessee Titans quarterback Brandon Allen just after he threw the ball away.
It was a monumental weekend for the Sanders family, who celebrated Deion's 58th birthday on Saturday. Shilo attempted to give his father a special gift commemorating the weekend and his birthday, but he turned it down.
In a video posted by ESPN's Jenna Laine, Shilo explained that he tried to gift his father his jersey from his preseason debut - a special moment for any football player, but especially between father and son.
Just a little tough love ❤️ (via @JennaLaineESPN) pic.twitter.com/JDAyeqdAuk
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025
"He didn't want it," Sanders said with a smile, laughing over the situation as he explained it to reporters.
"Because, you know, he's a Hall of Famer," Shilo said, explaining why his father turned down the gift offer.
"He expects like 30 times more. He didn't want that jersey. I'm gonna give it to my mom though. Not even as a birthday gift. He don't want that, I gotta get like three picks or something."
Shilo Sanders signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent, while his brother Shedeur experienced a much-publicized drop to the fifth round of the draft. Shedeur was selected by the Cleveland Browns, and is now battling to become the team's starting quarterback.
Shilo is looking to make the Buccaneers roster, and he's off to a promising start after his big hit and other plays over the weekend.
“It felt good,” Sanders said about his debut with Tampa over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.
“Thank you, God, for putting me in position to even be on the field. I feel like I left some big hits on the table. Next game will be some improvement on my angles, on my tracking because you don’t really get to work on it in an NFL practice or you’re gonna get kicked out of practice. Seeing a game for the first time in a long time, did some good things. It is what it is.”
We'll see what Shilo, Shedeur and Deion can do as they continue their individual football journeys this week.