Shilo Sanders remains in NFL circles despite not playing in the league. The brother of Shedeur Sanders, after being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has not played football, but remains in the media just by virtue of being part of the Sanders family.
As it turns out, he returned to the headlines on Wednesday, and it wasn’t for a great cause.
NFL World Defends Shilo Sanders After Debt Case Reported by USA Today
USA Today reported that Sanders’ attorneys requested in court to limit the scope of evidence available in his upcoming bankruptcy trial. The headline said that Shilo “is facing more than $11 million in debt” for an incident that happened in 2015, but didn’t mention the date or what happened.
The headline infuriated many users on Twitter, who complained about the lack of information provided and called USA Today’s headline “clickbait”. Influencer “I am John” called out the network for the tweet.
“The clickbait Shilo sanders tweet is wild. Dude got into a fight as a kid with an adult at the school and got sued for 11 million, then never showed up for court”, John said.
The clickbait Shilo sanders tweet is wild . Dude got into a fight as a kid with an adult at the school and got sued for 11 million then never showed up for court https://t.co/YDMJFkCR2c pic.twitter.com/Wv6a3qxVkW
— John (@iam_johnw) May 6, 2026
Ariel Givner, an IP & corporate attorney in FinTech who works with many cases involving law, also criticized how USA Today framed the story.
“Shilo Sanders debt stems from a 2015 civil lawsuit, btw. At 15, he assaulted a school security guard who was trying to confiscate his phone. The guard won a default judgment years later. Judgments follow you. *For those of you that just read headlines and not the actual story”, Ariel said.
Shilo Sanders debt stems from a 2015 civil lawsuit btw.
At 15, he assaulted a school security guard who was trying to confiscate his phone. The guard won a default judgment years later. Judgments follow you.
*For those of you that just read headlines and not the actual story. https://t.co/yuQyxNoNOH
— Ariel Givner (@GivnerAriel) May 6, 2026
But the story also involved comments with the NFL. Mac Blank, who writes for Dawg Pound Daily, took a shot at Cleveland’s media with Shilo’s brother, Shedeur, on the hunt for becoming the starter quarterback for the Browns in 2026.
“Can’t wait for someone in Cleveland media to use this headline as why Shedeur Sanders shouldn’t be a starting QB in the NFL”, Mac wrote.
Can’t wait for someone in Cleveland media to use this headline as why Shedeur Sanders shouldn’t be a starting QB in the NFL
— Mac🦬 (@tha_buffalo) May 6, 2026
Ross Read also took the opportunity to make fun of the situation. “He’s going to have to make a lot of sandwiches to get out of this one”, Ross said.
He’s going to have to make a lot of sandwiches to get out of this one. https://t.co/t9brz2hsn9
— Ross Read (@RossRead) May 6, 2026
Shilo’s debt is an interesting story to follow, but ultimately, his NFL future already seems doomed without involving any off-field stories. He hasn’t signed with any team since he left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
