Shedeur Sanders Wanted to Start NIL Collective If Drafted in Round 1, Shilo Says

Shedeur Sanders' slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft cost him significant money when it comes to his upcoming rookie contract, which also apparently cost Colorado some NIL money as well.

In a behind-the-scenes video depicting the Sanders family's experience during the draft, Shilo Sanders revealed his brother would have started an NIL collective for the Buffaloes with some of his rookie contract money if he was a first-rounder.

"If he would have went first round, he would have actually took that," Shilo said (29:40 mark). "He had some plans for the whole team. He was going to have his whole NIL collective. He's so generous."

The Cleveland Browns were the team that stopped Sanders' slide by taking him in the fifth round.

Spotrac projected the quarterback's first contract with the Browns to be four years and $4.6 million with a $446,553 signing bonus. It is a far cry from what Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter will be making as the first three picks in the draft.

Front Office Sports highlighted just how significant the difference ended up being for Sanders:

While Sanders creating an entire NIL collective would have surely helped the Buffaloes moving forward, the entire family has generated far more publicity for the program as it looks to continue a turnaround under head coach Deion Sanders.

Colorado went 4-8 in 2023 during the first year with Deion and Shedeur Sanders but improved to 9-4 in 2024.

That type of improvement and the national stage the program presents has surely caught the eyes of recruits, which will only serve to accelerate the rebuilding process that already took a significant step in 2024.

And if Shedeur finds success in the NFL and a larger second contract down the line, he can always donate some of that money to the NIL cause.