Shedeur Sanders Could Return To College Football and Make 2x His First NFL Contract

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio proposed an interesting idea following Shedeur Sanders’ free fall during the 2025 NFL Draft. The consensus No. 2 quarterback available on most NFL Draft boards, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Sanders was widely expected to be a first-round pick and was even the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 overall early in the draft process. Instead, he dropped all the way down to the 5th round before being selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick. The slide cost him over $40 million, including over $30 million guaranteed, making it one of the most jaw-dropping falls in NFL Draft history. 

Suddenly, Sanders is faced with an interesting dilemma. He could make more money playing one year of college football than he will for the duration of his first NFL contract, which would typically be a four-year deal. 

Will he attempt to return to college football for his final year of NCAA eligibility?

Browns Front Office Doesn’t Appear Thrilled To Select Sanders

Browns war room after drafting Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/VA0qU0KtUc

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 26, 2025

After selecting Sanders, the Browns front office didn’t show the kind of joy and enthusiasm that fans witnessed for nearly every other NFL Draft pick. Instead, general manager Andrew Berry appeared unhappy after picking what many fans believed could be the biggest steal of the draft. 

“Yeah, I think we’re probably just tired from the weekend,” Berry told reporters. 

The Browns infamously passed on Sanders in the third round to select QB Dillon Gabriel and suddenly have four quarterbacks in what will be a crowded QB room in Cleveland. Sanders and Gabriel will join former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco to compete for what will likely be three spots on the active roster.

Should Shedeur Sanders Return To College Football?

Sanders has a chance to do something that’s never been done before — return to college after being drafted by an NFL team. Sanders did not sign with an agent ahead of the NFL Draft and has one year of college eligibility remaining, opening up the possibility that he could challenge the NCAA to return to college football and re-enter the draft in 2026.

If he returns to the NCAA, Sanders will likely make more money playing one year of college football than he will over the course of his first four NFL seasons. 

With players like former Tulane QB Darian Mensah, who transferred to Duke, inking NIL deals worth $8 million, Sanders has a legitimate chance to earn up to two times his first NFL contract in just one college season.

There is some precedent for being drafted and refusing to sign with an NFL team, only to re-enter the draft the following season.

The most famous case involves none other than Bo Jackson, who was drafted No. 1 overall in 1986 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he refused to sign with the team after a dispute after feeling the Bucs had sabotaged his college baseball eligibility. Instead, he played baseball with the Kansas City Royals for a year and re-entered the 1987 NFL Draft, where the Raiders took him in the 7th round.

Why Sanders Can Challenge NCAA’s Antitrust Laws and Win

The NCAA hasn’t had much luck in court defending some of its outdated rules. 

It could be argued that the antitrust laws prohibit the NCAA from stopping athletes who declare for the draft and go undrafted, don’t like where they’ve been selected, or reject the contract they’ve been offered, from returning to college.

With recent court rulings, like NCAA v. Alston, making it clear that courts are more willing to rule against the NCAA’s control over college athletes, a well-timed legal challenge by a high-profile player like Sanders could have a real chance of succeeding.

Sanders could argue that such a ban violates antitrust laws by unfairly limiting his ability to continue competing and earning opportunities at the college level.