Shedeur Sanders is keeping folks wondering if he’ll be heading to the NFL, making people speculate about potentially spending his fifth year of college eligibility at University of Colorado Boulder. He jokingly suggested recently he’d stay if offered a mega eight-figure NIL deal, no such offer materialized. Now it seems the Buffaloes star quarterback could be focused on his NFL future.
According to Sports Illustrated, on Nov. 4, video was posted of Colorado‘s coaches reminding the team’s players to register for next semester’s classes. Sanders reportedly said, “Register for classes? “I’m going to the league.”
Will He or Won’t He Leave Colorado
But is he? In a later Sports Illustrated report, Sanders confirmed his intention to enter the NFL draft next year. “I’ll be in the league,” he said
Although NIL valuations are difficult to truly estimate, Sanders’ was $6.3 million, according to Sports Illustrated. This reportedly makes him the highest NIL earner in college sports. He has brand partnerships with Nike, Gatorade, Mercedes-Benz, Smoothie King, Audemars Piguet, among others. In August, Sanders became the first college football player to sign an NIL deal with Nike.
And Sanders had hinted that a $10 million deal could sway him to remain in college. While joking with teammate Omarion Miller in a moment posted online by Well Off Media, Sanders stated, “They said $10 million… I’ll be back.”
Such an offer never came–at least not yet.
Many doubted Sanders, the son of Coach Prime, Deion Sanders, but his record included throwing for 2,591 yards, he had 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season this season, while leading Colorado to an 6-2 record going into week 11 of the season. He has until mid-January to declare whether he’ll enter the 2025 NFL draft.
