Stephen A. Smith has an uncomfortable theory regarding Shedeur Sanders’ stunning NFL draft freefall.

The star Colorado quarterback and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was not selected through the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft after once being a consideration for the No. 1 overall pick.

Smith thinks he knows why.

The ESPN star posted to X on Friday night that someone texted him a message he believed was “absolutely correct.”

“This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like (Colin) Kaepernick-level collusion,” Smith wrote with regard to the message.

He then went off on how damaging even the talk of collusion is for the NFL.

 
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks on during a ceremony to retire his jersey before the Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field on April 19, 2025. Getty Images for ONIT
“All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything,” Smith wrote. “What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”

He wasn’t done.

 
Stephen A. Smith seen in March 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
Smith posted another rebuke of what he believes is being done to Sanders by the owners, as the second and third rounds concluded with him being undrafted.

“This is a damn disgrace,” Smith wrote. “How in the hell is @Shedeur not off the board, not drafted yet. Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on @DeionSanders. This kid is a first rounder. In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again…..being kept out. A damn disgrace. I don’t care what anyone says!”

Smith is comparing the situation to the alleged collusion between NFL owners not to sign Kaepernick,, who led the 49ers to a Super Bowl, after the QB made headlines kneeling during the national anthem as a way to protest racial injustice and police brutality in 2016.

He has not played in the league since becoming a free agent after the 2016 season.

Kaepernick sued the NFL over the collusion and the case was settled in 2019.

 
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida. AP

 
Colin Kaepernick speaks onstage during HumanX AI Conference 2025 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on March 11, 2025 Getty Images for HumanX Conference
Sanders has seen five QBs taken ahead of him so far in No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward (Titans), Jaxson Dart (Giants), Dillon Gabriel (Browns), Tyler Shough (Saints) and Jalen Milroe (Seahawks).

Even though ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper had Sanders ranked as the No. 1 QB, others see flaws in his game, including a lack of ability to make plays with his legs and holding on to the ball too long – leading to sacks when a play breaks down.

Before the draft, there were reports his brashness during team interviews didn’t sit well with clubs and there is also the Deion factor – as the Colorado coach could make unwanted headlines with potential criticism of how a team handles his son.

“Sanders’ slip is attributable to both flaws in his game and the brash attitude he displayed during the pre-draft process, NFL sources told The Post,” Ryan Dunleavy reported Friday.

CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones called what’s happening to Sanders a “repudiation by the NFL of how Shedeur Sanders and those around him handled the entire NFL draft process.”

Jones said he was told Sanders “more or less sandbagged” interviews during the combine with teams he didn’t see himself going to or who had a No. 1 quarterback in place and it rubbed teams the wrong way.

Are you shocked by Sanders’ slide?

This is clearly a way for the NFL, and its teams, to let [Shedeur] and anyone else after him know, you can’t comport yourself in this way moving forward,” Jones said during CBS’ draft coverage.

Sanders could still be taken Saturday, with Rounds 4-7 taking place.