Fact Check: Were Jimmy Haslam’s Grandkids Spotted Wearing Shedeur Sanders Jerseys vs. the Dolphins in Week 7?

After a 1-5 start that included three straight losses heading into Week 7, the Cleveland Browns finally caught a break, dominating a Miami Dolphins team that’s falling apart at the seams, 31-6. And of course, all eyes were on the quarterbacks, especially Shedeur Sanders, the one on the sidelines.

New starter, rookie Dillon Gabriel, did not have to do much in the game, completing 13-for-18 passes for 116 yards, as fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins did the heavy lifting with 25 carries for 84 yards and three scores on the ground. Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa chipped in too with three interceptions.

Despite the lack of quarterback drama in this big win for Cleveland, that’s still what people are talking about. The focus has shifted to the allegiance of Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s grandkids, which has now become the talk of the town.

Claim: The claim making the rounds in the wake of that positive result for the Browns is that Haslam’s grandkids were spotted on the sideline wearing Shedeur Sanders jerseys. While a small detail, it would certainly be a conscious choice by people very close to the owner of the team.

Source of the Rumor: Well Off Media, a media company run by Deion Sanders’ oldest son, Deion Jr., posted a picture of several relatively young men, likely teenagers, standing near Jimmy Haslam on the sideline during the Dolphins game. They were all wearing Shedeur Sanders jerseys, and the implication of the post was that this was Jimmy Haslam’s family.

Cleveland named Dillon Gabriel the starting QB after trading veteran Joe Flacco. However, some believe that Haslam and his family are still pushing for Sanders to be the main quarterback. Many also think the owner stepped in to force the Sanders pick in the fifth round of the draft, just two rounds after the team had already selected Gabriel in the third.

That’s why many found it so believable that the Haslam family showed up wearing their backup QB’s jerseys to the game.

Verdict: It doesn’t take much digging to learn that those are definitely not Haslam’s grandkids. And there are a couple of reasons for that. One, we saw his grandsons in the Browns locker room just two years ago. While they may have grown some, they could not have grown this much this quickly.

And if you hadn’t already noticed, all of those kids next to Stefanski are blonde as Lannisters. Meanwhile, the teenagers in Sanders’ post have hair as black as a Baratheon. Just take a look at the main family portrait on the “Who We Are” page for Haslam’s charity website, HaslamGiving.org.

As you can see, all of the grandkids take after the women in the family with their blonde hair. Jimmy and his wife Dee’s two daughters, Whitney Haslam Johnson and Cynthia Haslam Arnholt, have clearly kept the blonde family genes strong despite their husbands’ brown hair.

Those kids in the Sanders post could possibly be nephews, cousins, or relatives who would still be classified as Haslam’s “Family.” But they’re certainly not his grandkids or part of the inner circle shared above.