Shedeur Sanders Denies Giving Cam Ward His Jersey Due to Unexpected Draft Fall: “I’m Already Down”

Shedeur Sanders stays competitive even when someone asks for his jersey.

Shedeur Sanders Denies Giving Cam Ward His Jersey Due to Unexpected Draft Fall: “I’m Already Down”

Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Everyone wants to own Shedeur Sanders’ new Cleveland Browns jersey. Sanders’ peer Cam Ward is no exception.

On Friday, the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) unveiled the official rookie jerseys with their assigned numbers. The players at the event took pictures, and some even took out their phones to record the moment.

Several pieces of footage ended up finding their way onto social media. In one of the videos, Cam Ward can be heard asking Sanders for his Browns jersey.

Sanders refused to give the Titans quarterback his jersey. When Ward asked the reason behind it, the 23-year-old said,

I gotta sell it—I’m already down.

Their conversation may sound like two friends cracking jokes at each other, but there’s a deep meaning behind Sanders’ words. And it’s related to their contracts.

The Titans selected Ward as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. For that reason, the Miami graduate signed the most expensive contract among all the rookies in the class. According to One3.com, Ward penned a four-year, $48.7 million contract with the Titans, which includes a $32 million guaranteed amount and the option for a fifth-year extension.

Sanders, meanwhile, won’t even earn a quarter of Ward’s guaranteed money. The Colorado graduate’s historic slide affected his earning potential in the NFL. He signed a four-year, $4.6 million deal with the Browns after they drafted him in the fifth round, 144th overall. He will earn $1.15 million yearly, which is lower than his NIL deal at Colorado ($6.5 million).

Following the draft, Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin called out NFL teams for not taking Sanders in the first round. Irvin accused the league of robbing Deion Sanders’ son of $40 million.

Shedeur did not go in one or two, three or four, but in the fifth round, and after all the quarterbacks. After five of what, five quarterbacks? That’s mind-blowing. I think the crime, the $40 million robbery that just took place of Shedeur Sanders, or should I say I think the crime, the $50 million dollar robbery of Shedeur Sanders, because that’s what I just witnessed, if he were to go first overall.

If Sanders and other players, such as Miami Dolphins’ Quinn Ewers, had taken the same route as former Bulldogs and current Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck, then they could have earned more this year and entered the draft in 2026.

Why did Shedeur Sanders choose to wear number 12 for the Browns?

College and the NFL use different systems when assigning player numbers. For instance, college teams often give out the same number who play in different positions. Fans must have noticed two players wearing the same number, but one starts on defense and the other on offense.

Shedeur Sanders Denies Giving Cam Ward His Jersey Due to Unexpected Draft Fall I’m Already Down
Sheduer Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Sanders wore the number two in Colorado, while the number 12 belonged to Travis Hunter. Hunter played on both offense and defense, so Sanders settled with the number two.

However, number two was already taken by veteran wide receiver DeAndre Carter in Cleveland, so Sanders had to choose number 12.

Prime Time Sanders wore 21 during his NFL days. Sanders won two Super Bowls—one at Dallas and the other at the San Francisco 49ers.

One rookie who went through the jugular to get his jersey number is Giants star pass rusher Abdul Carter. The fourth overall pick faced multiple rejections before taking the number 51.

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