Colorado Fan Sues The NFL For $100 Million For Emotional Distress After Shedeur Sanders Dropped To The Fifth Round In The Draft

Buddy if you think you’re distressed now, it’s only going to get worse now that he’s on the Cleveland Browns.

A University of Colorado fan is suing the NFL for big bucks after having to watch quarterback Shedeur Sanders fall to the 5th round in the NFL Draft last month, accusing the league of “causing emotional distress and trauma to the Plaintiff as a fan and consumer.”

Despite only leading the Buffaloes to a 13-11 in his two seasons at the helm, many saw his skillset and potential to be very alluring for NFL teams in need of a quarterback, and at one point Sanders was projected to be a top-5 draft pick with teams like the Tennessee Titans, the Las Vegas Raiders, the New York Giants, the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers all in the market for a new quarterback.

But the son of Colorado Buffaloes coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders seemed to see his draft stock drop after the NFL Combine, when Sanders declined to throw and there were rumors that coaches saw him as “arrogant” and unprofessional during his interviews with teams.

One anonymous assistant coach even reportedly said that his interview with the team was the worst he’s ever seen:

“He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. … But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”

So it wasn’t a total surprise when he dropped out of the first round. But when he went undrafted on Saturday in rounds 2 and 3, all eyes were on Sanders and what went wrong.

In fact, Sanders had to wait until the final day of the draft to learn his landing spot, when he was eventually taken by the Cleveland Browns with a 5th round pick and #144 overall. It was an unprecedented slide for someone who was once projected to be a top 5 pick, and thought to be a second round pick at worst heading into draft day.

And apparently some Colorado fans aren’t taking it well.

The complaint, a copy of which has been obtained by Whiskey Riff, was filed on May 1 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta by a man who identifies himself only as “John Doe” but claims to be a resident of Georgia and a “consumer of the products and services” of the NFL.

The man says that he’s a “dedicated fan of Colorado football” and closely followed Sanders throughout his time with the Buffaloes, even attending Colorado’s game against TCU in 2023 and “witnessing firsthand Sanders’ exceptional talent and potential as a quarterback.” But he says that despite Sanders’ “demonstrated skills and significant attention,” he still fell to 144th in the draft because of “reports and leaked statements” that “contributed to a narrative that has unjustly harmed” Sanders’ reputation and potential.

The fan claims that the “slanderous statements” against Sanders show the NFL’s bias against him, and caused the fan to suffer from emotional distress and trauma. And he wants them to pay up for it.

The complaint alleges that the NFL violated antitrust law by colluding to drop Sanders down the draft board, and also claims that the decisions made on draft day “may have been influenced by racial discrimination.” He claims that this has led to “frustration, disappointment, and psychological harm as a fan,” and demands not only an apology from the NFL but also $100 MILLION in punitive damages against the league.

Man, if I had known we could sue the NFL for frustration and disappointment I would have been in court every time my New Orleans Saints sent Derek Carr out onto the field.

Unsurprisingly, the NFL has yet to respond to the complaint, though the court did issue an order referring the case to a District Judge to determine whether it’s “frivolous,” so this one may not end up going very far.

But if it does, oh buddy, my Saints better hope they find their starting QB quick.

And if this guy thinks it’s bad now, wait until he has to watch Shedeur Sanders sitting on the bench for the Cleveland Browns. That emotional damage is about to get a lot worse, pal.