At just 24, Shedeur Sanders has surpassed the legendary Tom Brady in his NFLPA earnings. The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback is a heavyweight in player marketing, and this is how he pulled in around $18 million after his first NFL season.

A month ago, the NFL Players Association disclosed Sanders’ $17.7 million earnings in their annual report to the Department of Labor. Sanders received this hefty amount for “royalities/player marketing” from May 2025 to February 2026.

His earnings can be broken down into two streams: group licensing deals and player marketing. 

Front Office Sports reported that Sanders’ group licensing deal “encompasses deals that include six or more players, the most typical of which are jerseys, trading cards, video games, and other collectibles.”

The latter is credited to “appearances and hospitality promotions.”

Sanders was paid in 13 installments to his limited liability corporation SS2Legendary. The largest payment of the bunch was over $9.2 million. This was made on May 16 of last year, 20 days after the Browns drafted him. 

Sanders signed a four-year rookie contract worth around $4.65 million. He was picked 144th overall in the fifth round. His signing bonus was $447,380 with an option fee of $3,703, per Spotrac.

While his average salary rookie season was $1.16 million, and he was paid $1.13 million, Sanders’ overall earnings surpassed the mark significantly. His amount is double the previous record held by Brady, who made $9.5 million in the 2021-22 season. 

Shedeur Sanders’ college NIL put against his Cleveland Browns’ contract

He was always a name even in his college days with the Colorado Buffaloes. Shedeur Sanders was estimated to earn some big paychecks after the college NIL he held. On May 20, Bleacher Report compared his NIL earnings to his NFL contract. 

“The good news for Sanders is that he’ll likely keep many of his partnerships from college, like his deals with Nike, Beats by Dre and Gatorade,” Andrew Pate wrote. “Sanders is also one of the biggest names in this year’s rookie class, so he’ll have plenty of other endorsements heading his way soon.”

Though his exact NIL earnings aren’t clear, On3 evaluated him at $6.5 million in 2024. His NFL contract took a hit because of an unexpected draft slide after he was projected as a first-round pick. 

“Per Spotrac, No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward will get a four-year deal worth $48.757 million and a $32.1 million signing bonus. Sanders’ Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, will get a $46.571 million contract with a $30.509 million signing bonus,” the analysis read. 

However, Sanders pulled in numbers far beyond anyone’s estimation. What are your thoughts on this? 

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar