By Kevin Sherrington / The Dallas Morning News/TNS
(Source Florida Courier):
Deion Sanders shook up college football in Boulder and beyond last year when he and his Colorado program announced, “We comin’.”
His message this week to the NFL: “We ain’t.”
Not Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, anyway. Not unless the city or franchise makes the cut.
Dallas does, in case you were wondering. Prime Time Jr. would be right up Jerry Jones’ alley.
On a recent “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, Sanders told the hosts he expects his son, Colorado’s fine quarterback, and Hunter, a terrific two-way threat, to go in the top four picks of next year’s draft. Not only that, he said, one or the other will be the top pick.
But it depends on the picker.
“I know where I want them to go,” he said. “So, it’s certain cities that ain’t going to happen.
“It’s going to be an Eli.”
The frame of reference was the 2004 NFL draft, when the Mannings let everyone know that Eli wouldn’t play for the Chargers, who held the top pick. Archie Manning, Eli’s dad, questioned whether the Chargers knew what they were doing. They decided not to argue the point and traded Eli’s rights to the Giants.
The Mannings weren’t the first to challenge the NFL draft’s primacy. John Elway famously stiffed the Colts in 1983, forcing a trade to Denver. The same year, Jim Kelly opted to play for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL rather than Buffalo, though he eventually caved in. Bo Jackson played right field for the Royals rather than the backfield of Tampa Bay in 1986. Ernie Davis refused to play for George Preston Marshall in 1960, so Washington traded his rights to the Browns.
And then there was the whole NFL-AFL bidding war before the merger.
The NFL draft has survived these challenges as well as others, and my guess is it’ll do just fine even if Deion makes good on his word.
Deion’s short list so far: Dallas, San Francisco, Washington and Baltimore. Probably not a coincidence he played in all four cities.
