The Sanders brothers have gone through a lot of downs in their drafts. And that has been talked about a lot this year. While Shedeur Sanders was finally picked up in the fifth round of the draft, his brother Shilo Sanders went undrafted. “Dad was our agent, but that hasn’t been working out too good. So today I had to sign with an agent,” Shilo said jokingly during a live stream on the final day of the draft. The Colorado alum likely said that playfully. But the draft snub must have frustrated and disappointed him.

Shilo’s NFL journey might not have started the way he dreamed. But the truth is, his journey is far from over. Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bucs, Shilo recently made quite an impression during the rookie minicamp. The 25-year-old also spoke to reporters after Saturday’s practice, opening up about handling challenges in the spotlight. A reporter asked Shilo what it was like to experience the lows in such a public way.

“Well, my take on being disappointed in lows is, like, it’s not really a low. Because you can’t change the path, and you can’t really do anything about something that already happened,” said the Bucs rookie. “So I just know it’s going to happen, and whatever is happening currently is to learn or to grow from,” he added.

Although the Colorado safety isn’t getting even half the attention his younger brother is, that doesn’t bother him. He’s quietly focusing on earning a spot on the 53-man roster. Safe to say, Shilo has been quite impressive in his first test. During rookie minicamp, Bucs HC Todd Bowles had nothing but praise for the rookie safety.

“Like the rest of the safeties, he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud. You can hear him (on the field), making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1,” the HC shared. The 25-year-old had signed a contract with the team before joining minicamp. And it looks like his performance during the camp reinforced the team’s confidence in him.

Bucs lock Shilo Sanders for three years

After facing a draft snub and feeling that his dad hadn’t worked for him as an agent, Shilo signed with NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him. He joined Tampa Bay after the draft. Last Friday, the team officially dropped the details of Shilo’s contract. The Colorado alum signed a three-year deal worth $2.965M with the Buccaneers. He will earn an average salary of $988K, with a base salary of $840K in 2025, as per Sportrac. Because the Bucs’ rookie is an undrafted free agent, he would not get a signing bonus. 

Shilo has experience playing at three schools on his resume. Starting his collegiate career at South Carolina, the rookie NFL safety transferred to Jackson State after one year. Then, in 2023, Shilo transferred again to Colorado to join his father, Deion Sanders, and younger brother, Shedeur. Over his collegiate years, he played in 54 games, starting in 36 of them. The 25-year-old recorded 229 tackles, six interceptions, and nine forced fumbles.

Talking about getting a chance with the Bucs, he shared, “They gave me a chance before anyone, so I’m forever grateful to the Buccaneers, and I’m just gonna do everything in my power to help this team win. That’s all I want.” For now, Tampa Bay already has veteran safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The team will most likely place Shilo in the free safety position. After going undrafted, Shilo believes he can and will stand out from the other players. Having strong defensive backups is always a plus for any team, so the Bucs could use him in that role.

Well, it will be exciting to see if Shilo Sanders will be able to turn heads in Tampa Bay by using his knack for creating turnovers to carve out a pivotal role in the Bucs’ defense.