When Shedeur Sanders slipped all the way to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, critics were quick to point out how costly a fall that is. The former Colorado quarterback watched his rookie salary drop to roughly $1.005 million per year after being selected 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns. A year later, however, the financial story looks very different.

According to financial reports filed by the NFL Players Association and shared by Front Office Sports, Sanders earned a head-turning $17.7 million in group licensing income during his rookie season. It is the highest single-season merchandise payout ever recorded by an NFL player. And Deion Sanders could not hide his pride while discussing his sons achievement.

“I just had a kid that made the most money in the history of the NFL in sales,” Sanders said in a recent Well Off Media video. “That wasn’t even included in the jerseys. Y’all don’t know that. That was just another deal.”

To understand how significant that number is, Sanders’ licensing earnings alone are roughly 170% higher than what Deion Sanders is set to earn during the 2026 season as Colorado’s head coach. They also shattered the previous benchmark held by Tom Brady, who had taken home $9.5 million during his 2021-2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The NFLPA documents, which listed the payments under Sanders’ company SS2Legendary, showed that money flowed to the quarterback between May 2025 and February 2026. One payment alone was of $9.2 million payment and it was issued only days after the 2025 NFL Draft.

The group licensing is limited to deals involving six or more players, typically covering jerseys, trading cards, video games, and other collectables. The NFLPA then distributes royalties from those sales to the players. Apart from earning from this, Shedeur also has personal endorsements with Gatorade, Delta Air Lines, and Ralph Lauren, which are not included. If added, they would have taken his total to a staggering $20M.

Even after being a late draft pick, the former Buffalo took the sales of Cleveland Browns jerseys to the next level. According to reports, Sanders sold jerseys worth $250 million last year, earning around 2-4% of this, or $5-10 million. And if you are wondering where all his money is going, you are not alone. Until now, no one really knew.

Where did Shedeur spend his NIL money in Colorado?

People criticized Shedeur’s play and leadership, overlooking the things he did to help his teammates. But Deion Sanders Jr. would not have it and shone a light on his and Travis Hunter’s deeds.

“Shedeur Sanders was spending his check helping pay other people’s NILs. Him and Travis Hunter. And that’s what a lot of people don’t know,” he revealed on Friday during his appearance on the MrOrganik YouTube channel.

“They would donate their own money that they would get from endorsements, like real NIL’s meant to get real endorsements. Use your name, image, and likeness to get legit, real endorsements. Like you see people in commercials on TV and stuff.”

Shedeur had his NIL evaluation at Colorado at $6.5 million; whatever money he made through these deals, he helped his teammates by paying their NIL compensation so they could stay on the roster. He even gave a percentage of his immense personal earnings straight back into Colorado’s collective.

“It’s basically setting them up for success, and everything in my power I personally can do, I’m going to do. I’m going to donate to the collective, for sure. It’s a tax write-off,” said Shedeur. “So yeah, I’ll donate to the collective so I’ll make sure we have a super team next year.”

While he donated most of his income, he was fortunate to own two Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 SUVs valued at roughly $200,000 each following his partnership with Mercedes-Benz.