Like his father before him, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has taken the football world by storm and has one of the largest sporting goods brands in the world hitching their wagon to the superstar talent.
According to a report from Pete Nakos of On3, Sanders has become the first college football player to sign an NIL deal with Nike.
It should come as no surprise that Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, would be the athlete to break through this barrier. After all, his NIL valuation, per On3, is just south of $5 million.
After leading the Buffaloes to a 4-8 record last season, Shedeur and his father hope to take things up a notch in 2024.
The Buffs come into the Big 12 with relatively low expectations in Year 1. Still, with some of the most impressive skill talent in the country on their roster, there’s reason to believe that Colorado could be a surprise contender in a wide-open league race.
In addition to Sanders — who is viewed as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft — Colorado has a potential top-10 pick in Travis Hunter and a plethora of new faces via the transfer portal.
The Buffaloes will face North Dakota State on Thursday in their first game of the 2024 season, and the Bizon aren’t overlooking Sanders’ skillset heading into the matchup. In fact, NDSU head coach Tim Polasek says Shedeur is the “best player NDSU has played yet.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CT), with live coverage from Boulder (Colo.) provided by ESPN.
