Shedeur Sanders could’ve left Browns for Colorado Buffaloes if new college football NIL bill passed last year

Shedeur Sanders could’ve left Browns for Colorado Buffaloes if new college football NIL bill passed last year originally appeared on The Sporting News

Shedeur Sanders has had the saddest NFL career possible so far, spurning the Baltimore Ravens in the 2025 NFL draft to land on the Cleveland Browns and not get the call when the starting quarterback was benched.

Dillon Gabriel gets the nod instead when the Browns take on the Minnesota Vikings in London this Sunday after Joe Flacco led the team to a 1-3 start, wasting the NFL’s No. 1-ranked unit in total defense.

And to make matters worse, Lamar Jackson, who Sanders would’ve been behind, or at least in competition with journeyman Cooper Rush for the QB2 spot, could be out for several weeks with a hamstring injury.

Sanders would’ve gotten the chance to start he desired had he taken the opportunity he rejected…to find a better chance to start.

Shedeur had anything but “Perfect Timing.” The best thing that could’ve happened to his career? It may have missed the boat by a year.

On Monday, Democratic senators introduced the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act in response to the Republican House of Representatives’ Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act.

USA Today’s Matthew Glenesk shouted Shedeur’s situation out in an explanation of the spiciest proposal in the new bill, which has not been passed or even put up for a vote yet.

“Got drafted by the Browns and don't want to move to Cleveland? Section 202 of the bill says an athlete can get drafted and go back to college as long as they don't receive compensation from the pro league and declare their intention to return to school no later than seven days after the draft,” Glenesk wrote.

Sanders won’t get that chance. There’s no guarantee anyone will.

Right now, the Republican Party holds the majority in the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Supreme Court, and won the Oval Office last November.

It’s unknown what laws will be passed to help NIL athletes in the future. If the SAFE Act is one of them, Shedeur and Deion, the latter of whom has had QB issues all year and called out Kaidon Salter on Saturday after CU’s 24-21 loss to the BYU Cougars, will have persistent thoughts about what could’ve been.