Colorado's Shedeur Sanders signs NIL agreement with Nike nearly 30 years after Deion Sanders' shoe deal
The Buffaloes quarterback's new deal will include both apparel and footwear
•
1 min read
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has signed an NIL deal with Nike that will include both apparel and footwear, he announced in a joint Instagram post. His deal comes nearly 30 years after his father, Deion Sanders, signed with the athletic apparel company.
Deion famously had a contract with Nike in the 1990s and produced massively popular signature shoes. His cleats were called Nike Air Diamond Turfs (DTs) because of his fame on both the gridiron and baseball diamond as perhaps the best all-around athlete ever. He separated from Nike in 2009 but returned in 2023 with the promise of future vintage shoe releases. In June, Nike released the Air Max DT '96 Black Varsity Maizes, a revamped version of a popular colorway among sneakerheads.
Shedeur spoke about his father's shoe line on his podcast Tuesday and said he'd be interested in furthering the line with an updated version of the shoes. With the new agreement, Sanders could potentially wear versions of Deion Sanders' cleats on game days while at Colorado.
"I would want to build on it," Sanders said. "I want to build on it, have like a different version. But I think concept, because I feel like it's more ... like now, like just looking at life and looking at everything, it's more about generational. It's more about what could be passed down year after year after year after year rather than everybody starting to think they're whole new wave ... because there's no real substance behind it. Everything that's great has to have a story behind it."
Sanders threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions during his first season at Colorado after following his father from Jackson State. The Buffaloes finished with a 4-8 record and 1-8 mark in Pac-12 play. Colorado enters the Big 12 in 2024 and opens its season at 8 p.m. on Thursday against North Dakota State.
