Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders just broke his silence on something deeply personal—his dad, Coach Prime aka Deion Sanders, quietly battling and beating cancer.
Deion recently shared that he had a cancerous tumor removed from his bladder—along with the entire bladder—and is now “cured.” But what shocked folks even more was that he kept this fight private, especially from his two sons who are both chasing Monday, Shedeur took a moment to speak on how he dealt with the news despite not knowing all the details in real time.
“I would say it’s definitely staying focused mentally,” he said. “Dad, he’s one person that, he’ll handle his, we’ll handle what we gotta do. It was something that we really ain’t need to have no formal conversation about, because it was like, ‘Y’all need to focus on what y’all need to focus on. Y’all can’t sit here and feel sorry for me.’ … We all knew because our family be talking in group chats and everything.”
Even though Deion was fighting cancer, his message to his sons was clear—handle your business.
Deion Sanders Hid His Cancer Battle So His Sons Could Focus On Football
Now here’s where it gets even deeper. Deion Sanders straight up admitted that he kept the diagnosis from Shedeur and Shilo so they wouldn’t lose focus during the most important time in their football careers.
At the time, Shedeur was getting started with the Browns, and Shilo was locked in with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“My sons, to this day, don’t know what transpired. I just told them it was something with my foot,” Deion said at a press conference. “I wanted them to focus on making the team and not focused on Dad.”
Let that sink in. This man went through surgery, recovery, and life-changing news without burdening his kids. That’s not just being a father—that’s being a real protector.