Shedeur Sanders won in his first start with the Cleveland Browns, leading the moribund franchise past the Las Vegas Raiders. And the victory didn’t just earn him the starting role moving forward with the Browns, but also a comparison to Barack Obama from Kendrick Perkins.
Sanders’ journey from the hype and stardom at Colorado to his unprecedented draft day slide, to the insane amount of scrutiny during his rookie season in the NFL, to now finding himself as a starter after the Browns traded Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered an injury. While Shedeur’s performance against the Raiders didn’t set the league alight, it definitely gave his fans and detractors enough meat on the bone to provide what they were looking for.
And it’s regarding those fans and detractors where the ESPN NBA analyst sees something that is generational in Shedeur Sanders. But not in the way that you might think.
Kendrick Perkins appeared on the LGND Talk podcast and talked about his personal support for the young quarterback. And in the comments, he said that Sanders has rallied the Black community around him and is the most powerful Black man in American society since Barack Obama, the twice-elected President of the United States.
Kendrick Perkins says Shedeur Sanders is the most powerful black man since President Obama
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 26, 2025
“Shedeur Sanders is the most powerful black man since 2009,” Perkins said. “You know what happened in 2009? That’s when President Obama got elected in office. He’s the most powerful Black man since 2009.”
“When Shedeur Sanders is on the field, and when I say powerful, there’s two sides of it, right? Think about it, ok. He’s bringing the whole Black community together. I ain’t ran across one Black person that has said one bad thing about Shedeur. Not one. Because he has the balance. He has the balance of that ‘I’m arrogant but I’m humble too.’ And he’s having fun with this s—,” Perkins added.
“He’s the most powerful Black man in sports. Matter of fact, f— Black man, he’s the most powerful player in sports.”
It’s ironic that Kendrick Perkins would invoke a presidential comparison for Shedeur Sanders given even Donald Trump felt the need to weigh in on his first start. Yes, it’s true that Sanders has gotten an inordinate amount of media attention as a backup quarterback and fifth round draft pick. But he actually has to have a sustained run of success in the league as a starter for him to reach a true level of influence, power, and notoriety. Otherwise, he might just be another Tim Tebow or Bronny James.
Kendrick Perkins is no stranger to big and bold takes, but comparing the quarterback of a 3-8 team to Barack Obama may be the biggest and boldest of them all.
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