Shedeur Sanders Lost Substantial Money With Browns Contract

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Shedeur Sanders was originally expected to go at least in the second round, and potentially in the first round, of the NFL draft. However, shockingly, he fell to the fifth round after the Cleveland Browns traded up to select him 144th overall.

While from an emotional standpoint, falling in the NFL draft was likely hard on Sanders, the real downfall of being drafted much later than expected is the loss of money.

That especially applies to Sanders, given his potential NIL intake. As the son of NFL legend and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, he is a well-known and extremely marketable athlete, which would have made him huge money if he was a senior and was able to stay in college.

Reportedly, the final number for his contract is $4.6 million for four years. To compare that to what he made in college over four years, he made an estimated $6.5 million in NIL deals.

Those numbers add even more fuel to fire of what was already a tough situation for the young QB. As long as he is in the NFL, fans and experts will discuss what went wrong for him during the draft process, and clown him for dropping in the draft and losing out on tons of money.

Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on May 10, 2025 in Berea, Ohio. Nick Cammett/Getty Images

What could have made this situation much worse is if Sanders had left college early and missed out on more NIL money. Fortunately for him, that wasn't the case, but either way, the situation seems to be only getting worse over time.

All of the negativity can go away, however, if Sanders is able to win the starting quarterback job for the Cleveland Browns, whether in the near future or as early as this season.

The offense overall in Cleveland isn't the best, but head coach Kevin Stefanski is a good offensive coach who can make it work, so if Sanders does manage to win the starting job despite the odds being stacked against him, his story could turn from an extremely negative one to an extremely positive one.

More NFL news: Shedeur Sanders Again Mentioned as Potential Browns' Cut Candidate

Until Sanders gets on the field and plays serviceable enough based on his original draft hype, fans will continue to be negative and make fun of him. Fortunately for Sanders, he is more used to the attention compared to most young athletes, given his famous father.

If he is able to move on from his draft debacle and focus on improving and earning his spot in the NFL, people will forget how he fell from potential first overall pick to the fifth round and lost out on a ton of money.

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About the writer

Seth Quinn is a contributing sports writer based in Massachusetts. His focus is on sports, primarily the NFL and NBA. He has in depth knowledge of the NFL and NBA as a whole, being a fan of both leagues for over 20 years. Seth joined Newsweek in 2025 after previously writing for Athlon Sports, Fansided, and as an intern with Syracuse.com. He is a graduate from Syracuse University both as a undergraduate and graduate student. You can get in touch with Seth by emailing s.quinn@newsweek.com. You can find him on X @SethFQuinn.


Seth Quinn is a contributing sports writer based in Massachusetts. His focus is on sports, primarily the NFL and NBA. He has in depth ... Read more