All About Cleveland Browns Quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ Famous Parents, Deion and Pilar Sanders

Shedeur Sanders’ journey to the NFL has been shaped not only by his talent but also by the presence of two famous parents: Deion Sanders and Pilar Sanders.

Deion, one of the greatest two-sport athletes in history and now head coach at the University of Colorado, has brought the same intensity to raising his children that he once showed on the field. Pilar, a former Ford Agency model and actress, instilled confidence and poise in her kids from an early age.

Even after their 2013 divorce, Deion and Pilar made it a priority to stand together for their children. When Shedeur fell lower than expected in the 2025 NFL Draft, they offered their support, and he turned the setback into motivation.

“All this is of course fuel to the fire and under no circumstance we all know this shouldn’t have happened, but we understand we on to bigger and better things,” the quarterback said in an Instagram video from his draft party.

For Pilar, that unwavering confidence comes as no surprise.

“Someone without the type of confidence that these children were brought up with, they wouldn’t understand,” Pilar told ESPN in April 2025. “At a very young age, they know who they are. They know what they can do.”

Here’s everything to know about Shedeur Sanders’ famous parents, Deion and Pilar Sanders.

Deion is a legendary two-sport athlete

Few athletes in history have matched the versatility and star power of Deion. He was one of the rare two-sport professional athletes, excelling in both the NFL and MLB.

Over 14 NFL seasons, he played for the Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys, Commanders and Ravens, earning eight Pro Bowl selections and two Super Bowl rings: one with the 49ers in 1995 and another with the Cowboys in 1996. The star cornerback was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

At the same time, Deion spent years as an MLB outfielder, playing for teams including the Yankees, Braves and Reds. He remains the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

After retiring from professional play, Deion transitioned into coaching, eventually becoming head coach at Jackson State before taking over the University of Colorado program, where he coached both Shedeur and Shilo.

Even with his own success, Deion made it a priority to teach his children the value of hard work and accountability. He emphasized that nothing would simply be handed to them, no matter the comfort of their surroundings.

“He made sure we understand, ‘We have a nice house, but this is all my stuff. This isn’t your stuff,’ ” Shedeur explained during press for the East-West Shrine Bowl in January 2025.

Pilar was a model

Pilar built a name for herself in the fashion and entertainment industries. She signed with the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency and worked on editorials, catalogs and runway shows for top designers, including Tommy Hilfiger, Guess and Richard Tyler.

Her career also crossed into acting, with appearances on Walker, Texas Ranger, Veronica’s Closet, The Pretender and the 1999 film The Mod Squad.

Pilar has also found a niche in the wellness space, where she’s gained a loyal social media following by sharing her passion for health and fitness. As a certified fitness coach, she developed the Pilar Fit 4Life program, a series that highlights a range of workouts from high-energy cardio to core-focused routines and full-body training sessions.

They had a destination wedding

In May 1999, Deion and Pilar tied the knot in a private destination ceremony in Nassau, Bahamas, with Bishop T.D. Jakes presiding.

“Pilar is a good woman with Christian values and has helped me to rebuild the shattered pieces of my life. Miracle of miracles, I am alive and in love again!” Deion told Jet Magazine in June 1999.

During their marriage, the couple became fixtures in the public eye. They starred together in the Oxygen reality series Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love, which documented their family life in Texas. Pilar later carved out her own spotlight with VH1’s Football Wives.

Their union lasted more than a decade before Deion filed for divorce in 2011.

“Pilar and I have decided to end our marriage and move on to the next phase of our individual lives with mutual respect. We are friends and our top priority has and will continue to be the well-being of our children,” he said in a statement to TMZ.

After lengthy proceedings, their divorce was finalized in 2013.

They have three children together

In addition to Shedeur, Deion and Pilar share two other children. Their elder son, Shilo Sanders, also followed in his father’s athletic footsteps and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025 as an undrafted free agent, before getting cut during the preseason.

Their youngest, Shelomi Sanders, took a different route, shining on the basketball court at Alabama A&M, where she plays guard for the Bulldogs.

Deion is also a father to two older kids from his first marriage to Carolyn Chambers: Deiondra and Deion Jr. Both have chosen careers outside of professional sports; Deiondra has worked in television and fashion, while Deion Jr. has built a following in digital media and content creation.

For Deion, fatherhood has always been defined by showing up.

“We just need you to be present. You don’t have to be perfect,” he explained during a 2024 appearance on the Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast.

Deion is a grandfather

The NFL legend became a grandfather on Aug. 9, 2024, when his daughter, Deiondra, welcomed a baby boy named Que.

“I love you so much Baby Que💙,” she wrote on Instagram alongside photos from her son’s birth. “This journey has been long, but seeing your face, my sweet baby boy, made every moment worthwhile. I am overjoyed to be your mom and cannot wait to share a lifetime of love and adventures with you.”

Deion was quick to respond to his daughter’s post, writing simply: “Proud of y’all.”

The former MLB player has been savoring his new role. “Being a first-time grandfather is wonderful,” he told PEOPLE in August 2024. Deion added that just before the interview, he spent time with Que: “That’s the first time I’ve said that as well. Just seeing my grandson, and said some things, and he smiled and all of that, so it was wonderful because my daughter is still in the hospital right now.”

Pilar is Shedeur’s number one fan

When Shedeur was drafted in the fifth round, Pilar was right there celebrating the milestone. She lit up again when her son received his Browns locker and No. 12 jersey, marking another moment in his journey.

That pride only grew when she donned a custom jersey to watch Shedeur make his NFL preseason debut with the Browns. Just as she celebrated his big moments on the field, Pilar hasn’t hesitated to share her pride in Shedeur’s talent and poise with a wider audience.

“In a landscape filled with promising talents, one quarterback stands alone at the pinnacle,” the proud mom wrote in an April 2025 Instagram post. “From coast to coast, across every division, no quarterback has demonstrated the combination of ELITE FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE, SURGICAL ACCURACY, and UNSHAKABLE POISE under the unthinkable amount of pressure like my son Shedeur and we all know it and have witnessed it.”

Deion has experienced health issues

In recent years, Deion has been open about the serious health journey he has been on. Years of circulation issues led to recurring blood clots in his legs, culminating in the amputation of two toes in 2021. The following year, he underwent emergency surgery to address additional clots, including one in his thigh and several near his knee.

In 2024, doctors discovered a tumor in his bladder during one of his regular vascular exams. Deion underwent major surgery to have his bladder removed and later revealed that he lost more than 20 lbs. during recovery. Deion admitted that he chose to keep the gravity of his diagnosis private, even from those closest to him. Neither Shedeur nor Shilo was told the full details while they prepared for the NFL draft.

“They didn’t know what the extent of it was,” the coach said during a press conference in July 2025, “so they could be focused on making the team and not focused on dad.”

Shedeur spoke publicly about his father’s cancer for the first time while at Browns camp. Rather than dwelling on the details of Deion’s health struggles, he emphasized keeping his attention on football and maintaining focus on his role with the team during the difficult period.

“I would say it’s definitely staying focused mentally,” Shedeur said to reporters in August 2025. “Dad, he’s one person that he’ll handle his. We’ll handle what we have to do. It was something that we really didn’t need to have a formal conversation about because [Deion] 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.’ ”