Shedeur Sanders is a popular person which will draw eyes no matter what he does
When the Cleveland Browns traded up to select QB Shedeur Sanders, there was an immediate reaction, in different ways. Some were excited for a chance to get a steal on a low-risk, high-reward quarterback. Others bemoaned the attention that comes with Deion Sanders’ son, while others, potentially including the NFL, were excited for that attention.
Cleveland and Browns fans should be uniquely prepared for the Sanders experience, but not everyone is ready for all that comes with it.
Let’s be honest, none of the off-the-field attention, coverage or exposure will decide whether Sanders is successful with the Browns. He has to put the work in, get the chance to succeed and show it on the field.
The rest is just noise that a lot (media numbers prove) are interested in.
That included Sanders making a visit to a Cleveland-area high school this week:
In his first week in Cleveland, Shedeur Sanders today surprised a group of scholar-athletes at John Marshall High School.
“I’ll be more involved in the community and really leading the kids in the right direction,” Sanders said after he was drafted.
: @CLEMetroSchools (IG) pic.twitter.com/jY2u9aeS9r
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) April 30, 2025
While many applauded Sanders’ willingness to quickly engage in his new community, some questioned his motives and the reason for the visit. According to ESPN Cleveland and ESPN’s Emmett Golden, the Browns QB and his camp just wanted to come to the school, wanted a field to work out at and minimized the coverage of his visit:
Details on Shedeur’s trip to John Marshall High School:
Shedeur reached out on Tuesday, saying he’d like to speak at a HS on Wednesday.
His camp asked if it was okay to use the field to train after speaking to the students. Which the school was more than happy to help with.…
— Emmett Golden (@egoldie80) May 2, 2025
Generally, the Cleveland media are notified when a player is involved in something in the community, so that there is coverage of the event. The team and the player’s representatives want as much positive media attention as possible. In this case, according to multiple reports, no emails were sent, no press releases and no invitations for media members to cover his arrival in the Cleveland community.
Yet, because there were cameras and things were posted to social media, many will still be skeptical of Sanders’ motivations. In the end, most things involving a famous player will get coverage and pretty much everyone has a smartphone at this point, so it will end up on social media.
Browns fans should be ready for the all-encompassing coverage of Sanders and remember that none of it matters unless it impacts his play on the field and relationship with his teammates.