Colorado head coach Deion Sanders revealed that he didn’t tell his two sons, Shedeur and Shilo, about his cancer diagnosis in the leadup to the 2025 NFL Draft
14:29 ET, 28 Jul 2025Updated 14:29 ET, 28 Jul 2025
Deion Sanders underwent multiple procedures to have a cancerous bladder tumor removed(Image: Getty Images)
Deion Sanders revealed that he kept his cancer diagnosis a secret from many people within his inner circle — including his two sons, Shedeur and Shilo.
While speaking to reporters on Monday alongside Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold and Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of Urologic Oncology at CU Cancer Center, Sanders revealed that he underwent multiple procedures to have a bladder tumor removed.
Around the time that Sanders learned he’d be going under the knife, Shedeur was eagerly waiting to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft. After suffering an unprecedented slide down the board, the quarterback was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the No. 144 overall pick. Shilo, meanwhile, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.
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In an effort to not take anything away from his son’s career milestone, Sanders chose not to tell them how serious his health battle really was.
“There were some scenes that you saw, all the bull junk that transpired on draft day. It wasn’t just that,” Sanders said. “I knew as well, I had a surgery coming up.
“My sons, to this day, don’t know what transpired. I just told them something with my foot, again, because I wanted them to focus on making the team and not focused on dad. So they really don’t know.
“My daughters do and this joker right here, much love to my son, Junior, who has not left my side since we found out what was taking place. Not one day.
Deion Sanders did not tell Shedeur Sanders about his cancer diagnosis ahead of the NFL Draft(Image: Getty Images)
“He’s been with me here, been with me in Texas, been with me everywhere, every day. And I’ve seen his handsome face. And I love you to life, son. And I thank you for everything you bring to the table.”
It wouldn’t be long, however, before Sanders would need to come clean with his two boys. By May, his condition worsened to the point that he needed to “make a will.”
“First things first, you don’t want to be a fool and leave and not have your business affairs in order,” Sanders explained. “So Lauren was there as well as my attorneys. And the funny thing about that is, you sit up there ranking your kids again.
“Let me see, Shilo deserves how much? Bossy, you know, she left Colorado to go elsewhere. You’re really going through this stuff, you know, making sure your mom was straight.”
Fortunately for Sanders, his series of procedures were a resounding success. “We removed the tumor. It was very high-grade, invading through the bladder wall, not into the muscle layer, something we call very high-risk, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer,” Kukreja explained.
“We discussed some options of treatment in the bladder, and we discussed bladder removal as well. Given his commitments to his family and to the team elected to undergo bladder removal, we performed a full robot-assisted laparoscopic bladder removal and creation of a new bladder.
“I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer.”