Athletes Can Now Make More Money in College Than the Pros

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, had expectations of being a top-10 pick in last week’s NFL draft.

If that happened, Sanders would have netted $30+ million in contract earnings plus endorsement deals from some of the largest companies in the world. After making about $5 million in NIL endorsements in college, this would have been quite the leap for Sanders.

But Sanders wasn’t a top-10 pick. He wasn’t a first-rounder, a second-rounder, or a third-rounder. He wasn’t even a fourth-rounder…

Instead, the former college star went 144th overall to the Cleveland Browns — making him a fifth-round pick.

Sanders is still unsigned, but he’s expected to make a little over $1 million per year. Due to his massive social media following and the mere appeal of his last name, Sanders will likely still rake it in with endorsement deals.

But as a fifth-round pick, he’s owed nothing in the league.

Sanders wasn’t even the first quarterback selected by the Browns. In the third round, Cleveland took Oregon quarterback Dillion Gabriel.

Why Sanders went so low is up for some debate, but it seems as if the hype went too far and NFL teams didn’t value him as highly as he, his family, and many football fans expected.

He also didn’t seem to take his pre-draft meetings too seriously, raising questions about whether Sanders could make it as the leader of an NFL franchise.

He’s a talented player, but when it comes to playing quarterback in the NFL, it takes a lot more than that.

Sanders did have one year remaining of college eligibility, and some have questioned whether he would have returned to playing for his dad at Colorado had he known where he might actually go in the draft.

Whether that would have made a difference in next year’s draft is impossible to know. But Sanders surely would have made more money had he stayed in college.

Being a member of the Sanders family, Shedeur likely wasn’t too worried about the pay cut after falling so far in the draft. Deion is worth $70 million and makes over $10 million a year coaching the Buffaloes.

But Shedeur is his own person and wants to carve his own path. Now he will have a chance to do so, competing against four other Browns quarterbacks for the starting job this season.