There has hardly been a college football player who has been under the spotlight as much as the Colorado Buffaloes’ senior quarterback Shedeur Sanders has. It seems to be delivering the goods as he became the biggest name among the collegiate athletes.
Sanders recently broke the internet after On3 released the list of the top 10 athletes with the highest NIL valuation. After his recent deal with Nike, he turned out to be on the topmost post with a $5.1 million NIL valuation. The most shocking part came when collegiate star Livvy Dunne was found to be placed below the quarterback with a $4.4 million NIL valuation.
Dunne, an LSU gymnast, is one of the first student-athletes to explore the opportunity that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals presented. She began signing massive endorsement deals because of her popularity in collegiate gymnastics and earned $9.5 million during her time at LSU.
However, On3’s assessment of the top 10 NIL deals seems to be different as Deion Sanders’ son with a net worth of $4.7 million ranked first. Shedeur rose to fame when his father joined the world of college football and became his head coach in Colorado.
Despite the disappointing last season, he is projected to be the first overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur is joined by his teammate and two-star wide receiver Travis Hunter in the list, who is ranked third highest in NIL deals with $3.1 million.
Shedeur Sanders discusses the dual nature of NIL deals
This list by On3 came shortly after the senior quarterback’s interview with former NFL star Robert Griffin III on his podcast, OUTTA POCKET. Accompanied by his brother and Colorado safety, Shilo Sanders, Shedeur highlighted the pros and cons of the NIL deals, when asked if he liked them.
I definitely love NIL, but there’s pros and cons to it though. You got to like don’t feel like you made it already. When you able to get whatever you want any time in life, then there’s like a lot of things don’t really interest you no more.Shedeur Sanders said
He shared that though he enjoys the luxury, paying taxes is not his cup of tea. The Colorado Star claimed that people only sees the number of these NIL deals and do not understand the taxes imposed on them.
