Where Shedeur Sanders Ranked on NFLPA's Sales List amid Reported Record Earnings as Browns Rookie

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders' reported record-breaking group licensing income helped him rank among the top five rookies in terms of overall merchandise sales during the 2025 NFL season.

Sanders ranked 31st among NFL players in sales of officially licensed products and merchandise from March 1, 2025 to Feb. 28 of this year, according to an NFL Players' Association report.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen recorded the top player sales over that period, followed by New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.

Items included in the NFLPA's ranking include licensed products sold by more than 85 companies, according to the union.

Front Office Sports' Daniel Kaplan previously reported that Sanders led the NFL last season in group licensing income. That category involves "deals that include six or more players" like jerseys and trading cards, per Kaplan.

Kaplan reported that Sanders set a record during his rookie season with $17.7 million in group licensing income. That broke a standard set at $9.5 million by Tom Brady in 2022, per Kaplan.

According to ESPN's Pat McAfee, NFLPA executive director JC Tretter said about $15 million of Sanders' group licensing income total came from trading cards.

Sanders signed an exclusive autograph trading card deal with Panini shortly before the Browns selected him in the fifth round of the 2025 draft.

According to the NFLPA, the union's list takes into account sales of trading cards, jerseys and T-shirts alongside other pieces of merchandise including hoodies, backpacks, pennants, figurines, bobbleheads and photos.

The merchandise sales list does not encompass endorsements or sponsorships, the NFLPA noted.

Top jersey sales last season belonged to Allen as well as the New England Patriots' Drake Maye, Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley, Seattle Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels, according to the NFLPA.

Sanders was one of five rookies to make the NFLPA's top-50 merchandise sales list alongside his former Colorado teammate Travis Hunter as well as the Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward, Las Vegas Raiders' Ashton Jeanty and New York Giants' Jaxson Dart.

Daniels finished in the top five for a second straight season, making him the first player since Ezekiel Elliott to earn top-five finishes in each of his first two NFL seasons, the NFLPA reported.