Mercedes Sapp has had a long, deep-running association with Tampa Bay. Growing up, she watched her father, Warren, dominate the trenches and stop offenses in their tracks. Week in and week out, she would see Warren Sapp make Raymond James Stadium his battleground, anchoring one of the fiercest defenses in NFL history and leading them to their first Super Bowl title. Even though Warren Sapp left the Bucs to move to Oakland, where he retired, Mercedes continues to be a part of Tampa Bay. In 2022, she joined the University of South Florida Athletics in Tampa as the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Enhancement and NIL Engagement and recently made the trip to her father’s old stomping ground.

Mercedes Sapp didn’t just inherit a love for sports — she was born with a whistle around her neck. With Warren Sapp, a seven-time Pro Bowler, and soccer player Jamiko Sapp, sports wasn’t a choice; it’s a family business. She played collegiate soccer as a goalkeeper, first at Missouri and later at the University of North Florida, where she earned ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year honors. After hanging up her cleats, she joined USF and now she finds herself joining hands with her father’s former NFL team.

At the start of the year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced their inaugural “She is Football Weekend” to celebrate “Tampa Bay’s female leaders of today and tomorrow.” The event was scheduled for Friday, March 7, and on International Women’s Day, Saturday, March 8. And Mereceds made sure to mark her presence on the big day.

She shared a story on Instagram with Alexa De Barros, who’s also a soccer player at Tampa Bay, and captioned it, “#StampedeForWomen coming through.” Women celebrating women is the best thing you can see around Buccaneers’ camp on Women’s Day. The weekend summit featured a women’s career summit, a girls’ flag football tournament, a 5K run, a walk & stroll, and a market that showcases women-owned businesses. Mercedes, as it turns out, had a lot more to share on her Instagram.

She dropped a picturesque snap of the Raymond James Stadium on her next story, writing, “goooood morning Tampa.” She then followed it up with another story with other participants in the 5k run, showing off their medals in Tampa Bay colors, complete with the caption, “YESSSIR.” The “She is Football Women’s” Summit is headlined by FOX reporters Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson and the funds from the initiative will go toward the Buccaneers’ efforts to keep girls in the game as they hope to create “the next generation of female leaders.”

This initiative aims to engage girls in football, offering them opportunities in the sport and using universities as a platform for genuine mentorship. Tampa Bay Buccaneers has a history of supporting women in sports, pushing boundaries, and ensuring equal opportunities regardless of gender.

In 2019, the franchise made history by introducing the Girls in Football Scholarship, the first NFL team to sponsor a college scholarship for female high school seniors pursuing a football career. The Buccaneers link this national scholarship to student-athletes participating in their Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic. A year before that, the team partnered with the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department to launch the Jr. Bucs Girls Flag Football League, which is comprised of 24 local recreation center teams.

The Buccaneers don’t just talk about change; they put it into action. They support the NFL’s Women’s Careers in Football Forum every year, with key figures like  Darcie Glazer Kassewitz and trailblazing coaches Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar — who made history as the first female coaches to win a Super Bowl in 2021 — leading the charge. It’s no surprise that Mercedes Sapp is totally in for this game-changing movement to empower women in sports. Her own body of work is inspirational in itself as well.

Sapp earned her Master’s degree in Communication Management with a focus on Leadership from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL, in 2019. A standout both in the classroom and on the field, she competed as a Division I student-athlete, guarding the net for the Women’s Soccer team as a goalkeeper.

Top Comment by Bigboone12

Yes. There only treating that way because of who his father is and the role he’s playing his sons career.

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Her impact was undeniable. In 2020, she became the first UNF student-athlete to claim the prestigious Goalkeeper of the Year honor. She started all 16 games that season, setting a Division I-era program record with eight shutouts while also boasting the highest save percentage (0.823). Her stellar performances earned her a collection of accolades, including 2020 First Team All-ASUN, United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Second Team, 2x ASUN Defensive Player of the Week, and a spot on the ASUN Honor Roll.

Prior to this, she was involved in multiple committees while studying at the University of Arizona. In addition, Sapp was very involved with community engagement and served as the Women’s Soccer community service representative hence her presence at Tampa Bay’s “She is Football Weekend,” is no surprise.

While Mercedes is blazing her own trail, her father continues to be a vocal presence on the NFL scene and recently came out in support of Shedeur Sanders.

Warren Sapp’s firm support to Shedeur Sanders amid criticism

Swagger or stumbling block? Shedeur Sanders is at the center of a major debate following his NFL Combine interviews. The Colorado QB decided to skip the drills and head straight to team meetings, where he left at least one anonymous coach unimpressed. According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, a quarterbacks coach from a top-seven draft team described Sanders as “brash” and “arrogant.” Warren Sapp has also expressed concerns. And Sapp — never one to sit quietly — wants names.

“I’ve been working for the last 48 hours to get his name. If I get his name, oh buddy, we’re going to do a deep dive into his life,” Sapp said on Thee Pregame Show, making it clear he’s not letting this slide.

NFL Draft expert Todd McShay mentioned that a high-ranking team official criticized Shedeur saying he “wasn’t taking it all that seriously,” another source mentioned his lack of a ‘professional approach’. Despite these criticisms, Sanders appeared unfazed by their opinions. Coach Warren didn’t hesitate to defend his player, saying, “We’re talking about a quarterback coach who’s not a decision-maker, wants to make that call about our quarterback.”

In addition, Warren Sapp heaped praise on Shedeur, calling him “the daywalker” with “all his siblings’ strengths but none of their weaknesses.” Deion Sanders and Warren Sapp have had a history of protecting their players, and no wonder Sapp is all up for it.

So, is this about Sanders’ personality clashing with some, or are NFL teams nitpicking for other reasons? In any case, the QB1 talk just became much more intense.