Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A motion filed this week in the $100 million lawsuit over Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide makes numerous new requests of the NFL. The documents are requesting an emergency motion for early and targeted discovery.
It was two weeks ago that an unidentified Georgia man, since identified as Eric Jackson, decided filed a lawsuit against the NFL seeking $100 million for the “emotional distress.” He claims this mental anguish was a result of watching Shedeur Sanders fall to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“I was a consumer of the NFL product,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times last week. “And I am protected under U.S. law as a consumer.”
Jackson added, “I was triggered. I have some previous conditions that were triggered. Anger. I was frustrated. I was emotionally disturbed given the fact that you had a guy that was projected to go first round and it was someone that you kind of associate yourself with — like I said [in the lawsuit], I attended some of the games of Colorado, I watched every game on television and I consume their media daily. And that would establish my personal connection to the team and to the players on the team. And to see how they were personally [treated during] the draft process … it was just debilitating to the point to where I had to address it in one of my therapy sessions following the draft.”
On Monday, Jackson, a 55-year-old resident of Lawrenceville, Georgia, filed a new motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia due to “the urgency, public interest, and volume of evidence likely to be in the exclusive possession of the NFL.”
According to WSB News, this new court filing requests (1) all internal communications, including emails, text messages, and memos between NFL executives, league officials, and team general managers, representatives, scouts and owners, relating to Shedeur Sanders from January 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025; (2) all scouting reports, internal assessments, draft boards, and interview notes used by NFL teams when evaluating quarterbacks in the 2025 Draft; (3) any audio or video recordings of team meetings, draft room communications, or NFL Combine sessions involving Sanders; (4) communications with third-party media outlets regarding the narrative and public portrayal of Sanders before the draft; (5) all documents related to the NFL’s investigation into the prank call placed to Sanders; (6) the results or report of the inquiry into why the personal phone number of Shedeur Sanders provided to the NFL was released to waiver wires; (7)and the 61-page arbitration report that found evidence of collusion against Black quarterbacks, affirming that systemic biases have influenced player evaluation.
“We are committed to exposing the truth behind what appears to be a systematic effort to undermine Shedeur Sanders’ opportunities in the NFL,” USA Today reports the plaintiff wrote in an accompanying statement. “This motion is not just about one player; it represents a broader fight against racial discrimination and the abuse of power within one of the most influential sports leagues in the world.”