Nepotism, or favoritism based on kinship, is nothing new in sports, but as we approach a new generation of athletes whose fathers were famous athletes themselves, it’s more obvious than ever.
In the sports industry, it’s all about who you know, and it just so happens that the people with the most power in the NFL are white. With an industry like the NFL whose profit comes from the players, who are predominantly Black, you would think more of these minds would be used to coach others once they retire. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
As a new era emerges for former players becoming coaches, one spotlight doesn’t shine any brighter than on Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado. Deion Sanders is one of the best cornerbacks the NFL has ever seen. He kept a flashy personality that matched his skill on the field until he retired.
When Deion Sanders started his coaching career at Jackson State University, a historically Black institution, he brought along his two sons, Shedeur and Shilo, and recruited Travis Hunter, the nation’s second-ranked recruit. The Sanders name brought attention to Jackson State, particularly to quarterback Shedeur Sanders and multi-position athlete Hunter. After two seasons at Jackson State, Deion Sanders was offered the role of coaching the University of Colorado’s football team.
Deion Sanders brought Sheduer, Shilo and Hunter with him, outraging some college fans. Since Jackson State is a Division II school, the level of talent they display isn’t on par with the Division I schools Colorado plays. Fans believed that Shedeur Sanders and others who were brought to Colorado only had the starting positions because Deion Sanders was the coach.
Deion Sanders responded to this criticism in a team meeting before the start of the 2023-24 season.
“We got a few positions already taken care of because I’m bringing my own luggage with me,” Sanders said. “I want y’all to get ready to go ahead and jump in that portal and do whatever you’re gonna get.”
Deion Sanders has the power with just his name, this seemed harsh to many but became a tone-setter for Colorado’s program under his regime. This would eventually be called the “Prime Effect.” Deion Sanders pushed this ideology through the use of social media, which has become a staple for the new Colorado Buffaloes.
While Colorado did improve to a four-win season, Shedeur Sanders had many critics. While Shedeur Sanders’ stats seemed fine to average viewers, scouts saw glaring problems with Shedeur’s completion percentage.
Completion percentage results from the quarterback’s complete-to-incomplete ratio. While Shedeur Sanders had a 69% completion percentage, he also was sacked 52 times in only 12 games, the most times compared to any other quarterback that season.
Sports fans and writers have speculated that the nation-leading sack numbers are due to Shedeur Sanders purposely taking sacks to save his completion percentage. This ties back to Deion Sanders being his coach and trying to boost his draft stock by not affecting the completion percentage.
In August of 2023, Sports Illustrated interviewed an anonymous Pac-12 coach who brought up the possibility of Shedeur Sanders’s stat padding.
“I think he takes sacks because he doesn’t want to affect his completion percentage,” the anonymous coach said. “He’s playing a little different than he did earlier in the season.”
Shedeur Sanders responded to the allegations via a video by Well Off Media, Deion Sanders’ media company.
“Whatever coach said that is goofy,” Shedeur Sanders said. “He’s lame.”
Shedeur Sanders, a senior, will most likely be headed to the NFL draft after this college football season. We will have to see if Shedeur Sanders was only drafted because of his Sanders last name, or if he has the starting capabilities of an NFL quarterback.
I believe his name will beat his skill. Knowing the great quarterback prospects coming up, I highly doubt he’ll be considered starting caliber at the NFL level.
A positive case of nepotism in the NFL is that of Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of famed Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Harrison Jr. had plenty of eyes on him at his home institution of Ohio State on account of his name, but he had the talent to back it up. Harrison Jr. is in the top 10 of every stat in Ohio State history for the wide receiver position.
His success on the field paid off when he was drafted as the fourth-overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. Harrison Jr. has just started in the NFL and – although he’s only played two games – his career continues to look promising.
Nepotism has also played a big part in coaching. According to a USA Today article, 93 coaches in the NFL have some sort of familial connection. Furthermore, there are only 9 head coaches of color, the record number of head coaches of color currently on a roster, which is no surprise to me.
From an outside perspective, hiring former players makes sense because they know the game best. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
It’s possible that many of these players’ minds aren’t utilized because of the head trauma sustained from playing football. More concussion protocols have been implemented, and it shows through newly retired players going into broadcasting. Four of the nine head coaches of color used to be NFL players. This is a trend I’d like to see increase.
Nepotism in sports is a problem. With the rise of social media and players having fame attached to their names, the children of these respective players will always have eyes on every step they make.
A famous last name brings recognition, but is that recognition deserved for someone like Shadeur Sanders or Marvin Harrison Jr.? We won’t know until about another decade, but we can ask ourselves if we’ll learn from our mistakes of nepotism, or if it will continue to spread into other facets of our favorite sports.
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