Shedeur Sanders makes NIL history as Colorado star inks Nike deal

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been signed by Nike to an NIL deal ahead of Thursday's season opener.

The deal marks a historic moment in college football , as the 22-year-old becomes the first college football player to sign a deal with Nike. Other NCAA stars such as Caitlin Clark and Bronny James formed a relationship with Nike in college, but the Colorado quarterback is now leading the way for football.

The agreement was announced on Wednesday and includes officially licensed apparel and footwear, meaning he will join his father Deion Sanders in the industry. Shedeur Sanders now has a NIL valuation of $4.7 million according to On3 , and as a projected first-round 2025 NFL Draft pick his stock continues to rise.

Deion Sanders, Buffaloes head coach and father of Shedeur, has a footwear deal in place with Nike. Sanders' Nike Air DT Max '96 is among one of the most popular sneakers in his range, and the head coach also has a line of cleats that are worn by several athletes.

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Ahead of Nike's deal with Shedeur, the NCAA star was already brainstorming ideas on how to build on the success of his father. Shedeur shared his plans the day before his Nike deal was announced, with the majority of fans assuming his dream wouldn't be achieved until he joined the NFL.

"I would want to build on it. I want to build on it," Shadeur said on his "2Legendary with Shedeur Sanders" podcast. "Have like a different version.

"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."

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When speaking about the importance of Deion's brand, Shedeur added: "Everything that's great has to have a story behind it. Every great player has to have a story behind it. So I feel like when it comes to design, anything like that, it always has to have a great story behind it."

Sanders' historic deal isn't the first breakthrough he's enjoyed, as the Colorado quarterback signed with Gatorade back in January 2022, becoming the first player from an HBCU to do so. Sanders is also signed with Beats by Dre, Mercedes-Benz, and Active Black, making him one of the richest college football players through NIL.

The Buffaloes will begin the new college football season at home to North Dakota State on Thursday, in what will be Sanders' final season. Sanders is a projected first-round NFL draft pick, with his head coach and father claiming he should be picked first overall in 2025.