Shedeur Sanders entered the pre-draft process hoping to be the No. 1 overall pick and remains available after two days and three rounds in an unprecedented slide.
At this stage, Sanders would enter the NFL as a backup. Barring injury to a starter, quarterbacks selected on Day 3 typically do not head to training camp as anything more than a developmental reserve. That’s not what Sanders envisioned just a few days ago, but it’s a reality he will have to deal with.
Just as notable for Sanders is the amount of money he has lost by tumbling in the draft. While the No. 1 pick makes more than $10 million annually on his rookie contract, a fourth-round pick can’t make more than $1.33 million per year.
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That’s undoubtedly less than what Sanders could make in college, but is a return to college actually possible?
Here are the options for Sanders as he waits to hear his name called.
MORE: Full list of QBs drafted before Shedeur Sanders
Can Shedeur Sanders return to college?
NCAA rules do not allow Sanders to return to college after declaring for the NFL Draft. With that being said, courts have been remarkably lenient to those who challenge NCAA eligibility rules in recent years, particularly with players now able to make money — and Sanders did leave Colorado with one year of eligibility remaining.
After Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia successfully challenged for an extra year of eligibility for himself, and, as a result, other players with junior college experience, Sanders could theoretically challenge the NCAA’s eligibility rules regarding the draft and perhaps have a fighting chance to win, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio points out.
In that scenario, an undrafted Sanders would be able to make considerably more money at the collegiate level in 2025, try to prove himself at either Colorado or another school, and re-enter the draft in 2026.
There is no indication Sanders is considering trying to return to college, but for a player and a family who have challenged norms every step of the way, it would be wrong to say anything is off the table.
Sanders could even attempt to return to college if he was drafted. The team that does draft him would hold his rights until the new league year begins next March, and he could re-enter the draft at that point. It would be an unprecedented turn of events, but Sanders’ slide has been unprecedented in its own right.
MORE: Best players still available entering Day 3 of NFL Draft
Why is Shedeur Sanders falling?
Buzz had been building in the days leading up to the draft that Sanders may slide into the back half of the first round or even out of the first round altogether. Reports point to Sanders’ skillset, not any character or attitude concerns, as the primary reason, but few expected a slide of this magnitude — and there aren’t any clear answers for why it is happening.
One anonymous AFC executive recently told Fox Sports that Sanders was “not special to me,” while Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported he was “having a really hard time” finding coaches and scouts who had the Colorado star graded as a first-round prospect.
An anonymous coach also recently said Sanders delivered a bad pre-draft interview, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
In the draft, there is often a fine line between quarterbacks considered franchise pieces and those who are not. Once Sanders slipped out of the first round and became a likely backup to start his career, some teams might have decided adding a backup with so much fanfare and the distraction that could come along with him in his father, Deion Sanders, simply wasn’t worthwhile.
While Sanders posted impressive numbers in his final season at Colorado, he took a significant number of sacks and showed very limited mobility. Many believed his arm talent and accuracy would outweigh those concerns on draft night, but instead, NFL teams had a much more tempered outlook on Sanders than most understood.
