Perkins declares Shedeur Sanders as the most powerful black man since Obama: "He has that balance of: 'I'm arrogant, but I'm humble too'"

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders isn't having quite the NFL career that he expected. Not only was he snubbed by teams in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Sanders has played just two games so far this season.

Despite that, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins gave the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders the ultimate compliment, comparing his clout to that of former United States president Barack Obama.

“Shedeur Sanders is the most powerful black man since 2009. You know what happened in 2009? That’s when President Obama got elected in office. He’s the most powerful black man since 2009,” Perkins said.

Arrogant and humble at the same time

Obama broke barriers by becoming the first African-American president of the United States. His historic win in the 2008 U.S. presidential election was a monumental moment in the country's racial history, and a significant victory for Black people who had long fought for equality in the "Land of the Free."

Meanwhile, Shedeur is arguably one of the most talked-about players in the NFL this season. His draft slide from a potential first-round, even Top 10 pick in the last NFL Draft, to the 5th round and 144th pick overall captured the attention of the sports world, drawing a heavy reaction from both sides of the fence and adding to his popularity.

“And when I say powerful — powerful because there are two sides of it," Perk added. "You got the black community. He bringing the whole black community together. I ain’t run across one black person that said one bad thing about Shedeur. Not once. Because he has the balance. He has the balance of the ‘I’m arrogant, but I’m humble too.’ And he has some fun with this s—t. He’s the most powerful black man in sports.”

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Shedeur was named as the Browns' starter for Sunday's game vs. the 49ers

Well, Sanders looked somewhat powerful when he dominated football headlines after he earned his first start of his NFL career last week against the Las Vegas Raiders. In that game, Shedeur completed 11 out of 20 passes for 209 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception while leading the Browns to a 24-10 victory. During his post-game interview, NFL fans got a sample of that mix of arrogance and humility.

“It’s amazing… after one week of practice,” Sanders said. “This is one week of practice. So imagine what a full offseason looks like… it gets dangerous. I’m just truly thankful that everything happened.”

With the win, Shedeur became the first Browns rookie to win his first start since Eric Zeier in 1995. A couple of days ago, the Browns announced that Sanders will be their starter this coming Sunday when they face the San Francisco 49ers, supplanting Dillon Gabriel as Cleveland's QB1.

Shedeur got his first taste of NFL regular-season action during the second half of the team's November 16 game versus the Baltimore Ravens after Gabriel suffered a concussion in the first half. He was dreadful, completing 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards with one interception and was sacked twice. We'll see what Sanders does this weekend.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.