Deion and Shedeur Sanders competed at very different times in college football. Both were, and still are, very well-known figures. However, the differences in the amount of money they earned in college and potentially at the next level will leave you shocked.
The Stark Difference Between Coach Prime’s Five-Year Rookie Contract and Shedeur Sanders’ 2024 NIL Valuation Will Leave You Stunned
Long before he was Coach Prime, Deion Sanders did it all in college.
A member of the Florida State Seminoles track and field team, baseball team, and football team for four seasons, Sanders’ college accolades jump out at you.
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All-American honors as a member of the school’s 4×100 relay team, appearing in the College Baseball World Series as an outfielder, and winning the Jim Thorpe Award in 1989, given to the nation’s best defensive back — excellence across the board.
He arguably excelled most on the gridiron, totaling 14 interceptions across 44 games, returning three of them for touchdowns. He also returned punts for the Seminoles, taking three of those to the house.
In 1989, he was drafted fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons. His contract?
Over the course of five years, he was paid roughly $5.2 million with a $2 million signing bonus and an average annual salary of $1.045 million. That was the norm back then.
His son, quarterback Shedeur, has had an excellent college football career as it nears its finish.
Across four seasons, he’s thrown for 14,119 yards with 132 touchdowns to only 25 interceptions. He’s expected to be the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, according to CFN’s latest 3-Round Mock Draft.
In 2020, the landscape of college football changed. The NCAA passed a rule allowing all student-athletes to profit off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). So began insane NIL valuations for individual players.
College football earns more revenue than any other college sport, and it’s growing each year. The thought of a college athlete being worth over $1 million was a huge step in the beginning stages of NIL, but now athletes are valued as much, much more.
For the 2024 season, Buffaloes quarterback Sanders’ NIL valuation is $6.5 million.
To recap: Coach Prime’s NFL rookie contract was worth $5.2 million — for five years. He earned less dollars (0) than sports played (3) as a Seminole.
How times have truly changed.
Shedeur will be privileged to earn more in the NFL than in 2024. Last year’s first overall selection, quarterback Caleb Williams, signed a 4-year, $39 million with the Chicago Bears, including a $25.5 million signing bonus. But in this day and age of college football, that’s not the case for everyone.
Some will exhaust all of their eligibility to earn as much NIL money as they can before they face the unknowns of the NFL.
It’s interesting to think about how much Coach Prime could’ve earned had he been able to capitalize on his image. We’ll never know, but one thing is true — college football is changing, and the money will continue to get higher and higher for these athletes.
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