Why doesn’t Shedeur Sanders emphasize losing $40 million in the draft

Shedeur Sanders was always a polarizing player before entering the league. The son of former NFL star Deion Sanders, Schedeur’s career so far can be summed up by what happened when he was drafted. Some pundits predicted that Sanders would be drafted in the first round, Sanders instead fell all the way to the fifth round. He picked it up Cleveland Browns in that circle.

With that slide in the draft, Sanders’ starting contract was significantly reduced. A top 10 pick in the NFL draft brings in at least $26 million. Had he been picked fifth or higher, his rookie contract would have been in the $40 million range. However, because he was drafted with the 144th pick, the Browns could only offer a $4.6 million contract.

Sanders was recently asked about that slide in the draft and how losing out on potentially earning a $40 million contract affected him. The Browns star was honest and said that he was grateful that he was in a position where the loss of that sum of money was not detrimental to him.

“If you’ve been working in a regular life and making decisions that are right for you, then nothing’s going to change,” Sanders said in a recent interview. “So I’m thankful and blessed that nothing has changed, you know, for me.”

Sanders found himself at the bottom of the Browns’ quarterback depth chart at the start of the season behind Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. After Flacco was traded, Gabriel took over as the starting quarterback for a few months. With Gabriel also underperforming, the team turned the reins of the offense over to Sanders when the season ended.

Sanders has played in eight games this season, starting seven games. The Browns quarterback finished the season with 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. He completed just 56% of his pass attempts, threw 10 interceptions and was sacked 23 times for a 9.79% sack rate. There were flashes of Sanders’ brilliance, but overall, tthe quarterback made a lot of rookie mistakes.

Browns now have the entire offseason to work out the issues with Sanders. With new head coach Todd Monken at the helm, Sanders has a chance to earn himself the starting quarterback role in Week 1.