Tom Brady, who has been a mentor to Shedeur Sanders, shared some advice and perspective with Sanders about his slide in the 2025 NFL Draft.

While there were a lot of questions about why Shedeur Sanders (at this point famously) fell to the fifth round of last month’s NFL Draft, one person who understands that where you go isn’t as important as what you do when you get to training camp, is Tom Brady. Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, having won 7 Super Bowl championships and multiple league MVPs with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the 199th draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. He also happens to be a friend and mentor to Sanders.

Brady recently guested on Logan Paul’s “IMPAULSIVE” and, of course, the subject of Sanders and why he fell so far in the draft came up. Brady said that it’s a good question, but nobody knows why he fell so far in the draft, making sure to point out that he wasn’t involved in any evaluations or the process (Brady is a part-owner of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, who selected two other quarterbacks during the 2025 draft). Brady shared that he texted Sanders to give him some advice and perspective while he waited to get picked. 

“I actually texted Shedeur because I know him very well, and I said, ‘Dude, like whatever happens, wherever you go, that’s your first day. Day 2 matters more than the draft.’ I was 199. So, who can speak on it better than me? Like what that really means. Use it as motivation, you’re going to get your chances, go take advantage of it.”

Brady, clearly feeling optimistic about Sanders’ future, pointed out some other great players that weren’t high draft picks. 

“Wherever you end up going … it’s about your performance. What do you do when you get there? Because you’re going to get there. I was around some of the best players who were undrafted free agents. They were Rodney Harrison. Rodney Harrison wasn’t a high pick. Julian Edelman wasn’t a high pick. Wes Welker wasn’t a high pick. Danny Amendola. All those guys were phenomenal players.”

The Cleveland Browns selected Sanders with the 144th pick of the draft and he enters a quarterback room with five other people vying for playing time: Joe Flacco, DeShaun Watson, Kenny Picket, and the other quarterback the Browns selected in the 2025 draft, Dillon Gabriel. Considering that crowded space, Brady’s message to Shedeur rings loudly. 

“So what’s it matter than some overhyped day where a lot of people are selling stories and saying, ‘All right this is the big day and this is the draft and it’s an important day and it’s fun and I love you know watching it and seeing it but I’ve also been there on Day 2 when they have to show up and actually learn a playbook, be a part of a locker room. There’s a lot of growth that has to happen.”

Hopefully, Sanders took Brady’s words to heart—he clearly values his mentor’s opinion. Perhaps because of that relationship, Sanders will reportedly wear jersey number 12, the same number Brady wore during his playing career. During high school and college, Sanders wore jersey number 2, which was recently retired by the University of Colorado, where Sanders played his final two years of college football.