The 55-year-old Georgia man suing the NFL over Shedeur Sanders’ draft-day tumble not only wants $100 million in damages, but a discovery process that proves an illegal conspiracy against the former Colorado quarterback and current Cleveland Browns rookie.
‘That is the function of the lawsuit,’ the man identified in the filing as John Doe told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview on Thursday. ‘We should get access to all the teams that he’s talked to, every team that he’s interviewed [with] so we can dispel the notions that he tanked his interviews and things of that nature.
‘We should be able to get all the scouts that visited Colorado and their notes to prove that he had a high draft grade. And then we will have to prove… how did he go from one draft grade to being taken off the board?’
Sanders’ stunning downfall at last month’s draft has largely been blamed on a supposed attitude problem he displayed during meetings with league teams. His supporters, including President Donald Trump, argued the decorated passer should have been drafted earlier, while detractors think Sanders lacks the talent to overcome his perceived personality issues.
Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason has since claimed on his morning radio show that Sanders slipped from a projected first-round pick to No. 144 because teams didn’t want an ‘entitled person.’ Other league insiders reported Sanders intentionally botched interviews with certain teams he didn’t want to play with.
But claims that Sanders ‘was too cocky’ in pre-draft meetings didn’t just hurt the quarterback, costing him roughly $40 million over the life of his first NFL contract. Doe, too, was impacted, as he explained to Daily Mail.
Shedeur Sanders was all smiles as he walked into the Browns’ rookie mini-camp on Thursday
Shedeur Sanders reportedly fell in the draft due to concerns about his professionalism
‘Just mounting frustration from the anxiety that I experienced, some of the trauma, the disappointment and frustration that I was feeling when I’d seen that Shedeur didn’t get drafted at his projected draft spot,’ Doe told Daily Mail.
‘Just to realize that a person was feeling that vulnerable and he couldn’t fight back and then I was just frustrated to the point where I’m like: ”Well if he’s not allowed to fight back, I guess I’ll go ahead and file my lawsuit against them because of the trauma that it caused me.”’
As for the $100 million in damages he’s requesting, Doe knows what everyone is thinking.
‘I mean, a lot of people look at it as frivolous because they don’t understand the cause of action,’ he said.
Those causes include the alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust and Civil Rights acts, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. And those requested damages also include the estimated millions Shedeur lost when he fell from the first round, where players sign for anywhere between $14.6 and $48.7 million, to the fifth.
As the 144th pick, Sanders will earn $4.6 million over four NFL seasons, according to the rookie salary scale.
‘Those combined elements will equal up to 100 million,’ said Doe, who is representing himself in the lawsuit.
A screen shows Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ name after being selected by the Browns with the 144th overall pick during the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 26
Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason said Sanders almost went undrafted over his attitude
Doe has no legal experience and was only involved in one unrelated lawsuit in his entire life. He filed this complaint anonymously because, as a small business owner, he’s aware that negative publicity could affect his bottom line.
‘I knew the impact of this type of lawsuit and what it would have and I just didn’t want the commotion associated with it,’ he said.
Doe’s connection to Sanders is probably obvious to anyone familiar with his Hall-of-Fame father Deion. A Georgia native, Doe was an undeniable fan of the two-sport star playing for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves.
‘Everybody in my generation was [a fan of Deion’s],’ Doe said. ‘We all had his shoes and were trying to mimic him.’
So when the elder Sanders began coaching his sons Shedeur and Shilo at Jackson State and then Colorado, Doe couldn’t help but follow.
‘I even attended their first game against TCU,’ Doe said of Colorado’s 2023 season opener. ‘Pretty much watched every game, so became pretty attached to them.’
That’s why, he told Daily Mail, Doe wants to see Shedeur’s reputation repaired. As the Sanders fan is quick to point out, Shedeur was never ‘arrested, never charged with any crime.’
And while he hesitates to accuse anyone of racism, Doe believes prejudice may have been a factor.
‘Everything is not related to racism,’ said Doe, who is African American. ‘When you lived the black experience, you know what a dog whistle is.’
Those alleged dog whistles include media claims that NFL insiders wanted to teach Sanders a lesson.
‘I’m like: who gives you that power?’ Doe asked. ‘That’s not what we’re here for you. You’re running a professional sports organization and for you to teach someone a lesson that hasn’t did anything wrong, I mean to me, you can’t avoid that.’
And that’s why teams owe him a retraction of the ‘slanderous statements’ and an apology for the ‘harm caused to his reputation,’ according to his filing in Atlanta federal court.
Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes talks with Shedeur Sanders #2 prior to a game against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium
Doe isn’t overly confident about his chances at proving any conspiracy, racist or otherwise. He hopes to use the legal theory of disparate impact, asserting that hiring practices can be deemed illegal if they disproportionately harm protected groups, but that’s not guaranteed to work.
As for reaction to his lawsuit, Doe said the folks around Atlanta he’s spoken with are split.
‘I think it’s 50-50,’ he said. ‘You know you got some people that don’t really care. I mean some people feel that he should be taught a lesson. Some people feel that he is smug. Some people feel that he needed to be brought down some. I’m not disparaging those feelings, but no one should be punishing [Shedeur] for not doing everything right.’
And while $100 million in damages might be wishful thinking, Doe insists the foundation of his lawsuit is a pursuit of facts.
‘I’m hopeful we can get to the discovery phase and find out the truth,’ he said.
An NFL spokesman has not responded to Daily Mail’s request for comment.
