The fifth round rookie quarterback is officially signed.
The Cleveland Browns inked Shedeur Sanders to a four-year, $4.6 million contract.
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With the ink dry on his new contract, Sanders has doubled his net worth.
Before today, it was a reported $4 million.
After signing his new contract, it is now north of $8 million.
Of course he won’t see every penny of his $4.6 million deal, as taxes will have a say in how much he actually takes home, but it is still impressive.
Unfortunately for Sanders, he could have increased his net worth x7.5 if he had been drafted in the first round.
And while the dollar signs at the end of the day don’t matter as much to Sanders as they would to most other prospects, it is still noticeable.
The difference between a top-five contract and a late first-round deal can be as much as $30 million, according to sports business analyst Darren Rovell.
Once the Pittsburgh Steelers passed on Sanders with the 21st pick in the first round, Rovell brought attention to the potential pay fallout that could await Sanders.
“After not getting taken at No. 21, Shedeur Sanders has now lost $30m vs being taken No. 1,” Rovell wrote, as the Steelers passed on the Colorado quarterback.
Rovell claimed that Sanders had lost ‘$34m and counting’ by slipping out of the first round.
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After he signed his rookie contract, Rovell was more accurate than he was incorrect.
Sanders will now have the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback position in Cleveland.
With incumbent starter Deshaun Watson looking to be out for the entire season due to his ruptured Achilles tendon, the QB1 spot is up for grabs.
The Browns brought back Joe Flacco who led the team to the postseason two seasons ago when Watson was again injured.
They traded for Kenny Pickett in the offseason and drafted Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon a round before Sanders.
In other words, it’s an extremely crowded quarterback room that won’t be keeping everyone just mentioned.
The opportunity is there for Sanders.
He can go out and take the job.
And prove a whole lot of people wrong in the process.
In the meantime, he’s just added another $4 million to his portfolio.
