Shedeur Sanders Is The New Barack Obama? Kendrick Perkins Goes Off the Deep End

Kendrick Perkins just said Shedeur Sanders is “the most powerful Black man in America since Barack Obama.” Let that sink in. Not the President. Not CEOs, senators, inventors, civil rights leaders, or billionaires reshaping industries. A rookie quarterback who hasn’t even won a full starting job yet. That’s not praise — that’s delusion dressed up as commentary.

This is what happens when sports coverage collapses into celebrity worship. When performance takes a backseat to perception. When being marketable suddenly equals being historic. Perkins didn’t just go overboard — he jumped straight into the ocean.

Let’s be clear: Shedeur Sanders may very well become a solid starter. He has tools, confidence, and the benefit of NFL bloodlines. But calling him one of the most powerful Black men in America is embarrassing to say out loud. Powerful how? Through what actions? Who’s he leading? What has he built? What systemic change has happened because of him?

Being famous is not being powerful. Power is influence with substance. Power is consequence — decisions that affect lives. Obama made decisions that shaped the nation. Shedeur just started one NFL game. Let’s stop pretending those belong in the same sentence.

Here’s what’s really going on:

The celebrity narrative around Shedeur has turned into a protective bubble.

Every critique is seen as hate. Every decent stat line becomes “legendary.”

Some media personalities are so eager to elevate the Sanders brand that they’ve stopped analyzing football altogether.

And if we’re honest, that bias wouldn’t exist if roles were reversed. Gabriel doesn’t get that treatment. Other young quarterbacks don’t get shielded this way. They don’t get called powerful — they get called projects. They get criticized, fairly or unfairly. Shedeur, though? He’s treated like a chosen one.

Kendrick Perkins calling Shedeur Sanders the most powerful Black man since Obama isn’t just over the top — it waters down what actual power means. It tells young fans that visibility matters more than responsibility. That being talked about is the same as being accomplished. That being Deion’s son gives you historic relevance the moment you get drafted.

That’s not leadership. That’s called marketing.

And ironically, it only puts more pressure on Shedeur. It sets him up to fail by inflating expectations beyond reality. If anything, this kind of hype is the enemy of development. The kid needs time. He needs reps. He needs to learn the profession one day at a time.

Let Shedeur be a quarterback. Let him earn power through work, not headlines.

Calling him the most powerful Black man in America doesn’t lift him up — it cheapens what power actually is.

Stop trying to crown him. Let him grow.

Because greatness isn’t declared. It’s built brick by brick, day by day.