Colorado head coach Deion Sanders suggested Tuesday that his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and two-way star Travis Hunter could appear in a college bowl game this year despite being projected as high NFL Draft picks in the first round.
The Buffaloes are still technically in contention for the College Football Playoffs due to the larger field, although their 37-21 loss to Kansas last weekend made that a gamble. They need to win their regular season finale against Oklahoma State on Friday and the results elsewhere need to work their way to even reach the Big 12 title game.
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Deion Sanders said Friday’s game in Boulder “isn’t the last time you’ll see (Shedeur and Travis) in a Buffs uniform,” implying the duo is willing to participate in a postseason game. “We’re going to a bowl game the right way because our fans deserve the very best,” the coach added.
If Colorado misses the CFP and Shedeur Sanders and Hunter still play in a bowl, they will be the rare elite NFL prospects competing in a Finals without a championship on the line. No top five selections in the 2024 NFL Draft played in a bowl game, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Joe Alt chose to avoid the risk of injury with tens of millions of dollars on the line.
Aside from the top five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, notable first-rounders who have skipped bowls in recent years include Kayvon Thibodeaux, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Kenny Pickett and Bijan Robinson.
There is precedent for a bowl game injury hurting a player’s earnings. In 2016, then-Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith suffered a serious knee injury during the Fiesta Bowl, and he fell from a possible top-five pick to a second-round selection.
Smith reportedly had an insurance policy, which allowed him to recoup some money after his setback, but he likely lost at least $10 million in total rookie compensation due to falling in the draft.
Even in a new NIL era where college players can make money from sponsorships, the risk of injury has kept superstars from playing non-CFP bowl games.
For the most recent NFL Draft, each of the top five first-round picks received a signing bonus of at least $20 million and a total contract value of at least $33 million. Meanwhile, only one second-rounder saw a total contract value of at least $10 million.
Five months out from the NFL Draft, Sanders and Hunter are widely projected as top-five selections by leading draft analysts. Hunter, who plays on both sides of the ball, also remains in the running for the Heisman Trophy.
Sanders entered this week ranked first in the Big 12 in completion percentage (73.4%), passing yards (3,488) and passing touchdowns (30). Colorado’s final regular-season opponent, Oklahoma State, is 0-8 in the conference and allowing more than 34 points per game.
After Sanders and Hunter left for the NFL, the future of Deion Sanders is an unanswered question that at least one brand has taken into account in a sponsorship deal with the school. Speculation that the coach would jump ship after a busy two years has died down following the recruiting commitment of 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis.
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