Shedeur Sanders' Projected Browns Rookie Contract After 2025 NFL Draft Pick

The Cleveland Browns selected Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the No. 144 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft on Saturday.

Sanders was once seen as a first-round prospect. The final B/R NFL Scouting Department big board listed Sanders at No. 23, and the last B/R mock draft had him at No. 20 (to the Browns, after a projected trade with the Denver Broncos).

Sanders did end up going to the Browns but in the fifth round.

The fall is going to cost Sanders some money on his rookie deal. Per Spotrac, Sanders is projected to earn a four-year contract worth $4.65 million, including a $446,553 signing bonus.

For context, the No. 1 overall pick, Tennessee Titans signal-caller Cam Ward, has a projection of $48.76 million on his rookie deal with a $32.1 million signing bonus.

The final first-round draft pick, Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Josh Simmons, has a projection of $14.66 million and a $7.3 million signing bonus.

That all being said, Sanders is probably happy the wait is finally over, and he could certainly have a chance to earn a starting QB job soon enough.

Sanders joins an interesting quarterback room that already includes another rookie in Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, who went No. 94 in the third round on Friday night.

Simply put, the opportunity is there for Sanders to take the job this year or next if he earns it. He may have seen a massive fall down the draft, but that may not stop him from being a QB1 in time.

Cleveland has been desperate to finally find a long-term QB1. Baker Mayfield was as close as the Browns have gotten since the team returned to the league in 1999, but he only lasted four seasons (2018-2021) before the Browns parted ways with him for Deshaun Watson.

In hindsight, that move drastically backfired on the Browns, as evidenced by Mayfield's success in Tampa Bay and Watson's failure in Cleveland.

But the Browns can hope that Sanders or Gabriel could be an answer here. And if not, they can go back to the drawing board in 2026.