Shedeur Sanders has had a long and meaningful relationship with the number 2. He wore it at both of his college stops (Colorado and Jackson State), and even included it in the name of his official brand, 2Legendary.
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Shedeur was also the second-born son to his parents, born in the second month of the year (February), and born in 2002. Lotta 2s. His pops, Deion Sanders, even had his No. 2 jersey retired by Florida State.
However, veteran wideout DeAndre Carter stopped the No. 2 train in its tracks when he claimed the number for himself with the Cleveland Browns ahead of the 2025 season. It was an interesting move for a guy who’s WR7 on the depth chart, 33 years old, and on a one-year deal.
Not to mention, Carter’s worn eight different numbers in the NFL already. But if he thought taking the digit would result in a big offer from Shedeur Sanders, he was dead wrong.
Sanders makes money from his own brand and business, even after leaving NIL dollars on the table for a potential fifth year at Colorado. In the end, he landed with No. 12, a classic QB number worn by greats like Tom Brady and Joe Namath. When asked if he’d tried to buy his old No. 2 back from Carter, Sanders gave a diplomatic answer with a touch of humor.
“Why did I take number 12? It was the best available number for me. That’s it,” said the rookie QB. And promptly, a reporter asked, “Did you try to buy [number] 2 from DeAndre [Carter]?”
Sanders replied, all smiles, “Nah, I’m not tryna buy anything. My signing bonus ain’t that high right now… Appreciate ya’ll!”
It’s almost like Sanders was raised with the knowledge that if he took this football path, he would have to be able to say the right thing at the right time on occasion. Know how to handle the pressure of the national media… That’s just one of the perks of being the son of someone like Deion “Prime Time” Sanders.
In a rare occurrence, almost all of the comments on the Instagram post from the Sanders family media company, Thee Pregame Show, were of the supportive or positive nature.
“Carried himself like a star in this interview“, said one. “He did a great job in his interview. The reporters were trying it, but he handled it well“, said another.
“That’s what they thought. No he’s not buying a number. Nephew is HIM“, added a third.
Another said, “He handled that with dignity and class but still threw a jab on his signing bonus.” This might be the most shrewd of comments, because Sanders definitely won’t be getting much of a signing bonus after going No. 144 overall in the fifth round. In fact, we know almost exactly what he’s going to get on his rookie deal even before he signs it.
Considering his draft position, salary cap and contract maven Spotrac was able to estimate the contract details of Sanders and the rest of the 2025 draftees. According to them, Sanders will play his first four years on a contract worth a total of $4,646,553. That’s an AAV of $1,161,638, and that includes the aforementioned signing bonus, which is being estimated at $446,553.
His NIL earnings were estimated at over $6 million during his senior year at Colorado in 2024, so funny enough, Sanders is technically taking a pay cut in the NFL. However, the opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage is surely worth it.
Not to mention that Sanders is also free to make as much money from his image and likeness as he can now that he’s left school. He will likely make that $6 million again in 2025. He’ll just do it through other business ventures rather than the so-called “salary” he took to play for the Buffaloes last year.
