Shedeur Sanders may be heading to Cleveland for now, but the Toronto Argonauts are hoping he’ll eventually take his talents north of the border.
In a surprising move, the Argonauts added Sanders to their CFL negotiation list on Monday, giving them exclusive rights to sign the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback should he ever decide to play in Canada.
Toronto Argonauts Add Shedeur Sanders to CFL Negotiation List in Stunning Move
While many had projected Sanders as a first- or second-round pick, he experienced a notable slide, becoming the sixth quarterback selected and the second taken by Cleveland, after Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.
He joins a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland that includes Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and now Gabriel. With Watson still recovering from an Achilles injury, there may be opportunity for Sanders, but nothing is guaranteed.
NEW: The Toronto Argonauts have added Shedeur Sanders to their Canadian Football League negotiation list…
(h/t @TSNDaveNaylor) https://t.co/XDsBUCFprw pic.twitter.com/uBJH5nTEXi
— On3 (@On3sports) April 28, 2025
If the NFL doesn’t pan out right away, the Argonauts are positioning themselves as a backup plan.
In the CFL, each team is allowed to maintain a 45-player negotiation list, which gives them exclusive rights to sign players on that list should they choose to pursue a Canadian football career.
While players are not bound to sign, no other CFL team can negotiate with them unless rights are traded or released. It’s a system that has previously been used for other high-profile names, including Johnny Manziel.
By adding Sanders, Toronto now owns his CFL rights, a move that could be strategic, speculative, or a bit of both.
While Sanders’ goal is clearly to succeed in the NFL, his long-term prospects in Cleveland are uncertain. As a fifth-round pick and the second QB taken by the Browns, he’s facing an uphill battle to secure a roster spot, let alone start.
The financial incentive to stay in the NFL is obvious, the highest-paid CFL players make around $600,000 per year, far less than the NFL minimum and significantly less than Sanders’ NIL earnings at Colorado.
Still, if Sanders doesn’t stick in the NFL, Toronto is a premier CFL destination. The Argonauts went 10-8 last season, have won two Grey Cups in the past three years, and offer one of the league’s strongest infrastructures for quarterback development.
Whether or not Sanders ever suits up for the Argonauts remains to be seen, but the team’s move to add him to the negotiation list shows how highly he’s regarded, even beyond NFL borders.
KEEP READING: KFC Supports Shedeur Sanders With Viral Tweet After Draft: ‘All a Sanders Needs Is Time To Cook
With a name like Sanders, a legacy under Deion, and raw potential that many scouts still believe in, CFL teams are ready to pounce if his NFL story doesn’t go as planned.
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