Why Deion Sanders refused Shilo Sanders' first NFL jersey and who got it instead

Jackie Longo

•
Why Deion Sanders refused Shilo Sanders' first NFL jersey and who got it instead image

Shilo Sanders is keeping it real when it comes to his NFL Hall of Fame father, Deion Sanders. 

The 25-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie, and second oldest son of the former Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver, 57, says that his dad doesn't want his very first NFL jersey.

Why Deion Sanders didn't want Shilo Sanders' first NFL jersey

Shilo and his younger brother, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, made their NFL debut at their respective preseason games over the weekend. After both of Deion's sons won their inaugural NFL games, Shilo told reporters he offered his father his first Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey, but he didn't want it. 

"Cause you know, he's a Hall of Famer. He expects like 30 times more," Shilo said, laughing. "He didn't want my jersey. I'm gonna give it to my mom, though." 

“I gotta get like three picks or something for him to want that," he added. 

Internet weighs in on Shilo's jersey offer: 'Deion secretly wants that jersey'

Shortly after a video of Shilo's interview went viral on social media, fans began insinuating that Deion probably does want the jersey, as well as praising the NFL legend for raising such a great young man. 

"Hall of Fame dad problems! I bet Deion secretly wants that jersey more than he lets on," one person commented on X. 

"He wants to make his father proud he was raised well," another person said. 

"That's some next-level father-son motivation. Nothing like having to outperform a legend just to impress him," someone else wrote. 

"No clue how or what @DeionSanders did but boy he raised these kids well," another added. 

MORE: Deion Sanders keeps things light ahead of Shedeur's NFL debut with jokes about grandma

Who got Shilo Sanders first NFL jersey

While Deion didn't want the memorable piece of his sports memorabilia, Shilo's mom, Pilar Sanders was more than happy to accept her son's first jersey. 

“Alright ya'll. Just played my first NFL game, you know what I’m sayin’? Official, first game in the books,” Shilo said in a video shared to his mother's Instagram on Sunday. "Shoutout to my mom for coming. She went all the way to North Carolina for Shedeur's game and then went to my game, so you have my jersey. This is for you," Shilo told his mother, before handing the first #28 Buccs jersey off to her. 

"Oh my gosh, your first NFL jersey," Pilar quickly responded. "Thank you babe. Oooh, it’s nice and wet and dirty."

Shilo replied, “You don’t want to wash it because it’s genuine right now.” 

Pilar Sanders' emotional rection to her son's sweet gift 

Pilar was clearly blown away by the special moment with her son. 

She shared her feelings about the special mother-son moment in her post's caption, writing that she was "speechless."

"Wow! So Grateful, Speechless and deeply touched realizing how connected he is," Pilar captioned the Instagram post. "We never had a conversation about this, so for him to do this all on his own is 💣💥🤯🤯 - moms you understand! 🥲🥲🥲🥲❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ l LOVE HIM SOOOO MUCH." 

In addition to Shilo, Pilar and Deion share two other children together: Shedeur, 23, and a daughter, Shelomi, 21. Deion also has two other children from his mother marriage to Carolyn Chambers, Deiondra and Deion Jr. 

 

MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS: 

Jackie Longo

Jackie is a freelance writer and editor with The Sporting News. She has covered sports, entertainment and lifestyle for over a decade. She has written for a number of outlets including Business Insider, The Sun, Travel+Leisure and Heavy. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from West Virginia University and resides in Charlotte, NC.