The CEO of Headache Gang, Shilo Sanders, is absolutely crushing it on both the virtual field and in real life. We all remember the buzz around Shedeur Sanders being considered for the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, but in the end, Travis Hunter landed the spot. Still, if anyone else on the Colorado Buffaloes squad deserves that honor, it’s definitely Shilo Sanders, their standout safety. He’s actually the third-highest-rated player on the Buffs in College Football 25.

It’s been a long wait—11 years—since the last game in the series, NCAA Football 14. With the return of the franchise, fans are excited, especially since the game now includes real player names thanks to NIL deals. If you’re a big college football fan, you’ll probably want to check out the ratings for your favorite team right away.

Back in June, EA Sports dropped the Top-100 player ratings, and with two star players, Colorado is one of the most exciting teams to use in the game. Shilo is ranked third on the team with an impressive 86 overall rating. The team as a whole has an 85 rating, including their offense, while the defense sits at 78.

During Big 12 media days, Shilo commented on his 86 rating, saying, “It’s actually cool.” He seemed pretty happy with it, especially noting, “One thing about it, my hitting power is probably the highest in the game. I don’t know if it is, but I think it is.”

Well, he’s not far off—his hit power is 87, which means we can expect to see some big hits and game-changing plays from him both on screen and in real life.

The evolution of Shilo Sanders EA rating

EA Sports, given the players’ rating, depends on their NIL value as well as prior performance or stats. Shilo was a tackling machine for Colorado last season, leading the team with 70 tackles. But that’s not all. He was a real ballhawk, forcing four fumbles, which was tops in the Pac-12 and second-best in the whole country. In fact, no defensive back anywhere forced more fumbles than Shilo did in 2023. Even before that, he was making great plays as a rookie, racking up tackles and an interception in his first two seasons. He might have missed some games due to an ACL injury in 2022, but when he was on the field, he was quite a force. No wonder he was named Second-team All-SWAC!  

Even his NIL deals are worth a cool $1 million. Well, this comes from his numerous NIL endorsements with companies like Google and EA Sports, as well as his role as a young Deion Sanders in the Starz television series “BMF.” So, you can understand the marketability and popularity he has as a Colorado player. Currently, the star athlete is recovering from his devastating injury during week 2 of CFB. Spectators are excited to see him once more this year. We hope for a speedy recovery for him.

To know more about NIL, see what Doug Sanders’ vision for it is in our exclusive Think Tank interview.