Insider Shoots Down Claim That Shedeur Sanders Took Pay Cut With Browns

Shedeur Sanders made it official with the Cleveland Browns on Monday, signing a rookie contract worth $4.6 million with a $447,380 signing bonus.

Once projected as a Top 3 overall pick, Sanders endured a long slide down the NFL draft board before the Browns finally took him in the fifth round.

He will now compete with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel for the chance to start in place of the injured Deshaun Watson.The final dollar figure of Sanders' rookie contract turned heads, with some suggesting that he actually took a pay cut from his final season at Colorado, where On3 gave him an NIL valuation of $6.5 million.

Pen to paperWe've signed QB Shedeur Sanders https://t.co/BmeN8tau5qpic.twitter.com/V05Zvw2osC Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 19, 2025Christian D'Andrea of USA Today's For the Win took on the reports, shooting down the idea that Sanders is actually making less money in the NFL."Let's start with one fact; NIL valuations aren't public.

They are a product of agents and bidding wars and best guesses.

They tend to be generally inflated," D'Andrea wrote.D'Andrea added that the NIL deals Sanders signed in college didn't evaporate once he left Colorado, noting that many of the relationships transfer to the NFL.

"Furthermore, these NIL deals in college don't necessarily evaporate once a player leaves.

They just become endorsements," D'Andrea wrote.

"Anyone who was paying Sanders before? They can still pay him -- though his luster has admittedly dimmed after going from Big 12 player of the year to Browns' fourth-string quarterback."Related: Shedeur Sanders signs deal with Panini before NFL Draft.

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