Shedeur Sanders owes Donald Trump a thank you for ending his NFL Draft nightmare. That’s according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt anyway. 

Sanders, once projected to be a top-five pick, suffered humiliation last week when he fell not only out of the first round of the draft but continued to tumble all the way down to the fifth. 

The slide – one of the worst in NFL history – sparked outrage from fans, former players and analysts with the president at the helm. 

Trump took to Truth Social Friday evening ahead of the second round beginning to take aim at NFL owners for pᴀssing on the quarterback. 

And, when asked about Sanders finally being picked by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick, Leavitt seemed to suggest that Trump was responsible.     

While addressing reporters during Monday’s briefing. Leavitt was asked whether Trump believes he deserves credit for the selection. 

Donald Trump (right) hit out at NFL owners over Shedeur Sanders’ (left) snub in the draft

Leavitt on Shedeur Sanders: “All I will say is the president put out a statement, and a few rounds later he was drafted, so I think the facts speak for themselves.” pic.twitter.com/rAFrAbex2s

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 28, 2025

‘All I will say is the president put out a statement, and a few rounds later he was drafted, so I think the facts speak for themselves,’ she answered with a laugh.

Following the first round,Trump had been left seething over the decision from the league’s 32 franchises to overlook the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback and son of NFL legend Deion Sanders. 

‘What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?’ Trump wrote in his latest Truth Social rant. ‘Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! 

‘Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness. He should be “picked” IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!’

Sanders had been tipped by many – including his father – to be top-five pick but wasn’t chosen by anyone at all on Thursday and his misery continued during the second and third rounds.

Entering Friday night, many expected Sanders to be taken with the first pick of the second round by the Cleveland Browns. Instead, the Browns pᴀssed on him at picks 33 and 36.

Then, in a complete shock, the New Orleans Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th pick.

No other quarterbacks were taken in the rest of the second round, leaving draft analysts confounded by how far Sanders had fallen.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Sanders’ draft pick Monday 

Sanders endured a draft nightmare as he dramatically slid out of the first four rounds 

Read MoreEXCLUSIVE Inside story of how ‘enтιтled’ Shedeur Sanders caused his NFL Draft humiliation that stunned Trump

Then came the chaos of the third round. With the 28th pick of the round and the 92nd pick overall, the Seattle Seahawks chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in a stunner.

But then two picks later, in perhaps the most staggering development of the night, the Browns took a quarterback by selecting Dillon Gabriel, the Oregon gunslinger.

Gabriel had been projected by Kiper as the eighth best quarterback in the draft class. 

Sanders was finally put out of his misery on Saturday afternoon, when the Browns selected the ex-Colorado star with the sixth pick of the fifth round. That put an end to one of the most stunning sagas in the history of the NFL Draft.

In the weeks leading up to the Draft, there was increasing speculation that Sanders could fall down the order after reportedly giving a bad impression in meetings with multiple NFL teams.

His character in particular had been targeted following the combine with anonymous team sources branding him ‘brash’ and ‘arrogant’ following interviews.

As he continued to plummet down the draft, some on social media had suggested that the team’s snub of Sanders was racially motivated. 

The quarterback was finally taken by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick 

Sanders had been tipped by many – including his Hall of Fame father, Deion – to be top-five pick

Stephen A. Smith suggested it could stem from teams’ dislike of Sanders’ father Deion, whilst also likening the situation to that of Colin Kaepernick – the former NFL quarterback has not played in the league since the 2016 season after taking a knee in protest during the national anthem.

Meanwhile, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman joined the debate Friday, suggesting the United States fear of ‘strong black men’ was behind the drop.

Bowman also likened the 23-year-old’s predicament to NFL legend Eli Manning, who refused to play for the San Diego Chargers after being selected with the No. 1 pick in 2004.

‘The NFL doesn’t like [Shedeur]Sanders because he wears gold chains and talks like a rapper. They don’t care that he’s a leader, intelligent, tough and completed 77% of his pᴀsses with no O-line and no running game. He’s enтιтled but Eli Manning wasn’t enтιтled when he refused to be drafted by San Diego?’ Bowman wrote on X.