Open Letter to Shedeur Sanders
- Donald V. Watkins
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on October 4, 2025
Dear Shedeur,
I have followed your career in football since you played quarterback at Jackson State University. I was happy to see your success at Jackson State and the University of Colorado.
As expected, you made it into the ranks of professional football. That’s a blessing for those who pursue football as a career.
The NFL is a Multibillion Dollar International Business Enterprise
The NFL team is a multibillion-dollar international business enterprise. Its enterprise zones are vast and deep. They are expanding these zones every year.
Except for the Green Bay Packers, each NFL team is owned by a majority owner and, in some cases, limited partners. The Packers are owned by a publicly traded coproration.
Today, each majority owner (beyond the Packers) has net worth in the tens of billions of dollars. The NFL team is NOT his/her biggest income-producing asset.
All NFL majority owners, except one, are white. The lone exception is a Pakistani American. Blacks within the NFL ownership ranks are limited partners who have no input in team management decisions.
In 2007-2009, I formally applied to become the majority owner of the St. Louis Rams. Goldman Sachs in New York vetted me as a qualified and capable bidder. I made it through every round of the bid process. I lost out to Stan Kroenke, who was the Rams' sole limited partner.
Kroenke held a “right of first refusal” if the majority owner (the Rosenbloom family) ever sold its majority stake in the team to a third-party like me. Kroenke exercised his "right of first refusal" on the last day of the option period and at the last minute. Kroenke now owns 100% of the Rams, which he relocated to Los Angeles.
During the bid process, I met several of the 32 team owners in private one-on-one conversations. They are extremely successful business moguls.
On average, the 32 teams are worth $7.1 billion each. Some are more valuable than others.
Each NFL team is going to rise in value each year, whether you play in the league, or not. This increase in value will occur whether the team makes it to the Super Bowl, or not.
NFL team owners have huge egos and pocketbooks that match their egos. All of them are extremely conservatives in the political arena. They have an aversion to "controversial" players.
Owners know that players come into the NFL and leave every year. Players are NOT their business partners. Players are employees, until they are no longer productive on the playing field.
No player is ever bigger than the game, or the team owner, or the carefully crafted PR brand of a specific team. Owners get rid of talented players all the time – for a variety of reasons. Just ask Colin Kaepernick.
Success in the NFL
I think you have the potential to become a successful quarterback in the NFL, but first you must make a major adjustment in your attitude, public demeanor, and personal behavior. You must place the team first, at all times.
Unlike college football, you are working on another person’s privately-owned business platform. The majority owner controls every major decision on the platform. They have the power to keep you on the team, trade you, or waive you. As a league, NFL owners also have the power to blacklist you. Again, just ask Colin Kaepernick.
At this juncture, the highest and best use of your time in the NFL is the development of your talents and gifts as a quarterback and your spirit as a team-first player. Spend your time in film rooms and on practice fields. Let your work ethic on and off the playing field and comradery with teammates do the talking.
Learn as much as you can about the 32 owners of NFL teams. They control your destiny within the league.
Kill the partying, speeding tickets, and “celebrity” entourages. Take a very low-profile off the field.
Prepare yourself for a leadership opportunity on an NFL team. Remember, luck occurs when preparation meets opportunity.
Lastly, stand for something that is larger than yourself. What you do for a living should NEVER define who you are as a person.
Sincerely,
Donald V. Watkins
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