While Shedeur Sanders slid to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, he is still one of the most popular younger players in the NFL, and his jersey sales can back that up.
Advertisement
According to Fanatics and Cllct’s Matt Liberman, Sanders is the leader in jersey sales despite being a fifth-round pick. In fact, he is the only rookie in the top-10 jersey sales who wasn’t a first-round pick.
Shedeur chose to sport the number 12. The number 12 for quarterbacks has been significant recently, with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers wearing the number during their careers. While they are two of the game’s greatest quarterbacks ever, their influence isn’t the reason why Sanders chose to rock the No. 12. At least, according to Skip Bayless.
According to Bayless, Sanders is wearing number 12 to pay homage to his father, Deion Sanders, who wore the number backwards during his NFL career.
“Again: Shedeur Sanders did not choose to wear No. 12 in Cleveland in honor of his mentor Tom Brady, whose Raiders repeatedly passed on him in the draft. No, he’ll wear 12 because it’s his father’s number backward.”
NFL Network reporter Andrew Sicilliano jumped in to back Skip’s claim as he shared a video of him interviewing Shedeur on his new jersey number. In the video, Sicilliano says, “It’s Dad’s number backwards,” to which Shedeur says:
“You get the hint,” Sanders told Sicilliano. “It felt good wearing it for sure, any number is going to feel good wearing it, it’s about what I do in the number.”
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) June 2, 2025
Reactions to Skip Bayless’ tweet about Shedeur Sanders’ jersey number have been mixed. While some fans appreciated the sentimental value behind the choice, many seemed indifferent, especially considering Sanders was a fifth-round pick.
A portion of fans admired Sanders’ decision to wear No. 12 as a tribute to his father, Deion Sanders, who famously wore No. 21. They appreciated the personal significance behind the choice.
“Really cool way to honor his dad while still making the number his own. Those little details and family connections mean so much more than just picking a random jersey number.”
Others speculated that Sanders may have preferred to wear his college number, No. 2, which is currently taken by wide receiver DeAndre Carter.
“And because #2 was not available.”
Still, a large number of fans expressed apathy, with some making sarcastic remarks about Sanders’ chances of seeing the field at all. “Wow, what a great story. He’ll still be fourth string,” one comment read.
Sanders faces an uphill battle to make the final roster. The Browns’ quarterback room is already crowded, featuring veterans Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson, as well as Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel. He will need to stand out to earn a spot.
Last week, the rookie didn’t get any reps during the team’s OTA sessions that were open to the media. Head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed he did get reps during the two closed sessions and should expect more reps this week.
