Browns QB Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut Friday night “inspired a new ad” from Nike on social media, which “captured the moment with another classic ad highlighting Sanders’ performance,” according to Pat Benson of SI. Nike shared a picture of Sanders “celebrating a touchdown with the five-word message, ‘Only a matter of time.’” It was “a nod to Sanders’ signature wrist-watch celebration” and a “sign of confidence in the young quarterback’s future in the NFL.” Sanders signed an NIL deal with Nike last year before his final season with the Univ. of Colorado, and the brand “heavily promoted” him leading up to the NFL Draft (SI, 8/9).
When you get your opportunity, create your next one. pic.twitter.com/YiHJUJAiov
— Nike Football (@usnikefootball) August 9, 2025
JUST THE BEGINNING: In D.C., Mark Maske wrote Sanders “stole the show” during the first full weekend of NFL preseason games. It was not “a perfect performance,” but perhaps “most importantly, Sanders looked as though he belonged” (WASHINGTON POST, 8/10). The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Jason Gay wrote after seeing “the birth of NFL Shedeur mania,” just “wait for the hype machine to kick in over the next few days.” These are “the doldrums of August,” and an “exhausted America always warms to a fun, low-stakes story at this time of year.” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who “surely has a process he wants to adhere to,” is not going to get “goaded by the media into making a premature decision” about naming Sanders the Week 1 starter. Gay: “You don’t think fans are going to be yelling for Sanders the first time one of his colleagues is picked off? Did you see all those Sanders jerseys in the crowd Friday night? In North Carolina?” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/10).
