Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders cemented his name at the top of the NIL rankings after it was announced Wednesday that he had signed a deal with Nike. Sanders becomes the first college football player to sign a deal with the American athletic footwear and apparel corporation. The Buffaloes signal-caller follows in his father’s footsteps, with Deion Sanders also having signature Nike cleats.
Shedeur has cemented his name as the No.1 NIL earner in college sports
Since the departure of basketball player Bronny James to the NBA, Sanders has the highest NIL valuation in college sports according to On3, sitting at $4.7 million. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne ($3.9 million) and Texas quarterback Arch Manning ($3.1) follow Sanders in those rankings.
While the full terms of this Nike deal have not been disclosed, Sanders’ valuation could surpass $5.0 million — which was the valuation of James while he was at USC.
The University of Colorado is a Nike school and Sanders could wear any Nike cleats designed for him. If that does happen, it would be the first time in the NIL era that an athlete has worn personalized Nike cleats during a game.
It’s another big move in the NIL market from Sanders, who has been busy building his legacy over the last several years. He has signed NIL deals with Mercedes-Benz, Beats by Dre, Gatorade, and Under Armour, among others.
Shedeur wants to build on his father’s Nike legacy
Speaking on his “2Legendary with Shedeur Sanders” podcast earlier this week (before the Nike deal was announced), Sanders talked about building on his father’s Nike legacy and his cleats.
“I would want to build on it. I want to build on it. Have like a different version,” Sanders said. “But I think the concept, because I feel like it’s more… like now, like just looking at life and looking at everything, it’s more about generational. It’s more about what could be passed down year after year after year after year rather than everybody starting to think they’re a whole new wave and whole new because there’s no real substance behind it.”
Sanders also discussed the potential design of his cleats, explaining that they need to have a great design because everything great has a story behind it and every great player has a story behind them.
