Retired NFL quarterback Eli Manning appreciated the callback by Colorado head coach Deion Sanders to his bold gambit leading up to the 2004 NFL draft.

Appearing on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast (via ESPN.com), Sanders said "it's going to be an Eli" if son Shedeur and Buffaloes two-way star Travis Hunter don't land in a preferred destination in the 2025 draft.

Manning famously didn't want to play for the then-San Diego Chargers in 2004, which led to his draft-day trade to the New York Giants.

The two-time Super Bowl champion wasn't the first to handpick his first team, or at the very least decide where he wouldn't play. John Elway pulled the same thing with the Baltimore Colts in 1983.

College athletics have witnessed a sea change in the dynamic between athletes and coaches thanks to changing the transfer rules and the advent of the NIL era. Perhaps it's only a matter of time before that increased level of empowerment seeps into the pro game. Exceptional prospects would come to believe they have sufficient leverage to basically treat the draft like free agency.

But there's a reason Manning and Elway are the only two football players who have successfully achieved this within the last 40-plus years.

Drawing a line in the sand like this is risky when there's no viable alternative to the NFL for aspiring football stars. The United Football League, the new venture that merged the XFL and USFL, has a long way to go until it can attract the best college talent out there.

You pretty much have to be a generational prospect who lines up at a premium position as well.

Shedeur Sanders qualifies for the latter but probably not for the former. He's tentatively projected to be one of the top QBs in the 2025 class but saw his stock slide a bit as the 2023 season unfolded. In the case of Hunter, he'll likely eventually have to decide whether he'll play wide receiver or cornerback full-time, and neither is likely to afford him enough power to decide where he will and won't start his career.

The pair could be in for a rude awakening if they intend to make good on Coach Prime's comments.