Shedeur Sanders will look to prove every NFL team wrong by climbing up the Cleveland Browns’ depth chart in his rookie season. But interesting, he will be doing so by actually being paid less in the NFL than he was during his collegiate playing days at Colorado.
Sanders was undoubtedly the biggest loser of any player of the 2025 NFL Draft, losing out on millions by sliding all the way to the fifth round, where he was selected by the Browns with the No. 144 overall pick in the draft.
As a result, his rookie contract in the NFL is set to be significantly lower than his estimated NIL evaluation in college was.
On Monday, Sanders inked a four-year, $4.6 million deal that includes a $447,380 signing bonus. For reference, his NIL evaluation according to On3 Sports during his time in college was $6.5 million.
Shedeur Sanders’ rookie NFL contract compared to his NIL deal at Colorado 😳
(via on3) pic.twitter.com/iHBQQ1rKEo
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 19, 2025
Chances are, Sanders’ endorsement deals with the likes of Brady Brand, Gatorade, Actively Black, Mercedes-Benz, Oikos, Beats by Dre, Urban Outfitters, and Nike that came from his collegiate playing days will likely carry over to the NFL. So with that in mind, it’s likely that he will still be paid comparably to what he received in college.
Still, it’s not exactly the boost in pay that No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward received in his rookie deal, receiving a four-year $48.7 million deal, including a $32.1 million signing bonus.
If Sanders can earn the starting job in Cleveland in years to come, he will certainly garner some interest and make far more money in his second NFL contract. But at least for the time being, it sure seems like foregoing his final year of college eligibility to be buried on the Browns quarterback depth chart may have been a bit of a mistake.