After a topsy-turvy rookie campaign, Shedeur Sanders is entering the 2026 campaign looking to make the Cleveland Browns‘ starting quarterback job his own. Sanders will face competition from Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel, but he should have a very good shot at winning the job during training camp.
After going from being a surefire first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders fell to the Browns all the way in the fifth round. He eventually earned a shot under center late in the 2025 season, and he did enough to (somehow) earn himself a Pro Bowl selection. On the surface, it seems like that fall in the draft cost Sanders quite a bit of money, but per the NFLPA’s annual report, it turns out the talented youngster still actually made quite a bit of money last year.
Shedeur Sanders Earned $17.7 Million in NFLPA Royalties Last Season
Instead of earning a big-money contract that comes with being selected in the first round of the draft, Sanders had to settle for a four-year, $4.46 million contract after falling to the fifth round. Beyond the fact that Sanders’ quest to immediately establish himself as a starting quarterback was deterred, he also lost quite a bit of money from a financial perspective.
In the modern NFL, there are quite a few other ways to make money, so it’s not as if Sanders wasn’t raking in the dough. As one of the more marketable players in the league, Sanders has his fair share of sponsorship deals and partnerships with various brands and businesses, but he also earned a nice check from the NFLPA.
Per the organization’s annual report, Sanders made $17.7 million in NFLPA royalties last season, which nearly doubled the previous record, which came in at $9.5 million for Tom Brady during the 2021 campaign. The money was given to Sanders’ LLC (SS2Legendary) for jerseys, trading cards, and other collectibles, while he also earned some cash for appearances and hospitality promotions that were tied to the NFLPA.
“(Sanders) earned a record-shattering $17.7 million in group licensing income over the course of the season, according to the NFL Players Association annual report filed this week with the Department of Labor. The prior record was Tom Brady’s $9.5 million in the 2021-2022 season,” Daniel Kaplan of Front Office Sports shared.
Shedeur Sanders Aiming to Solidify Himself as the Browns’ Starting Quarterback
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will have to battle Deshaun Watson for the starting job.
Every quarterback that enters the NFL nowadays is chasing Brady’s legacy and his assortment of records, but Sanders probably wasn’t aiming to break his NFLPA royalties record. Chances are, many of the deals Sanders signed in this department were finalized before his aforementioned draft fall, although you can make an argument that the draft actually made him an even bigger name among fans.
Regardless of how much money and where he’s earning it from, Sanders is entering the 2026 campaign with one clear goal, and that’s to earn the Browns’ starting quarterback job. This very much appears to be an open competition for the time being, but if Sanders can come out on top, he can begin chasing down some of Brady’s more notable records.
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