The kids grow up so fast these days. 

Back when Shedeur Sanders was born in 2002, his dad Deion had just played his final MLB season with the Reds ahead of an eventual NFL twilight stint with the Ravens. The Primetime Era was nearing an end. Or so we thought. 

Turns out, the Sanders were in the process of building a new foundation for a glorious comeback two decades later. 

Deion is in a new role this time around, patrolling the sidelines in his first year as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Shedeur is the one turning heads on the field. The junior quarterback followed his dad from Jackson State to Boulder and passed for 510 yards in his first game, leading the Buffaloes to a massive upset over TCU and putting the country on notice. 

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Older brother Shilo Sanders is also a key piece at safety, having begun his career at South Carolina before transferring to Jackson State and eventually joining the Buffaloes roster. 

It’s Primetime again. The question is, how long will it last in Colorado? 

Multiple NFL teams have expressed interest in Deion just three games after his Colorado tenure began. That five-year, $29.5 million contract is already looking like a bargain for the Buffaloes given the 3-1 start (the 1 loss being a back-to-earth blowout defeat at the hands of a stacked Oregon team in which Deion said, "You better get me right now.") and unprecedented national attention, with a record 9.3 million viewers tuned in to a thrilling, late-night double-overtime win over Colorado State in Week 3. 

It’s hard to imagine Sanders, who went 23-of-33 for 159 yards and a TD vs. Oregon, leaving so soon after making such a big splash with a completely overhauled roster of his creation. The bigger question is whether Shedeur will be under-center for the Buffaloes again in 2024. 

Where Will Shedeur Sanders Play In 2024?

These odds are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect odds that may be available on legal betting apps.

Sanders isn’t doing anything this year that he hasn’t done before. The college football world is just finally paying attention. 

The 6-foot-2 QB passed for 6,963 yards and 70 touchdowns over two seasons at Jackson State before heading to Colorado. There were plenty of doubters who thought he wouldn’t be able to do it on the big stage, but he quickly proved them wrong with 1,251 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in his first three games with the Buffaloes. 

He’s also drawn plenty of attention from pro scouts. That’s one of the reasons our odds have the NFL as the most likely destination next season. 

Most analysts project Sanders as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, should he choose to forgo his remaining college eligibility. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is the consensus No. 1 pick, but Sanders isn’t far behind him on most QB boards as of now. 

He’ll have a chance to further improve his stock throughout the season, with a whopping seven top-25 opponents on Colorado’s schedule in 2023. His performance the rest of the way will play a huge factor in his decision – if he continues to light it up and is considered a first-round lock, we find it highly unlikely he wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. 

If the Buffaloes lose a few games and his performance falls off, bringing his first-round status into question, things will get interesting. But even if Colorado doesn’t seriously contend for a Pac-12 title, he’ll likely still be putting up big numbers most weeks. 

Sanders’ future became an even bigger talking point recently when a video posted by Well Off Media showed Deion, Shedeur, and Shilo at an NFL game. Shilo alluded to the brothers playing on Sundays next year. 

“Ya’ll ain’t going nowhere,” Deoin said. 

We’re not putting too much stock into the interaction. It was a lighthearted interaction. Deion was a first-round pick in the 1989 NFL Draft after four years at Florida State. We highly doubt he’d prevent his son from making the leap if he was guaranteed to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a first-round selection next year. And Shedeur wouldn’t be the first person to defy a parent’s wishes or instructions.

However, Deion made a good point in a follow-up interview with Bleacher Report. Shedeur is a star and in the days of NIL, you can make almost as much money in college as the pros. And we assume if Deion remains firmly against him leaving at the end of the season, Shedeur would put a lot of weight on his advice. We have his odds of staying at Colorado lower than the NFL, but there are several scenarios where returning to Boulder could make the most sense. 

It’s also important to remember that nothing is out of the question in the modern era in terms of coaching contracts and the transfer portal. If Colorado wins big and another top program makes him an offseason offer he can’t refuse, Shedeur could hypothetically follow Deion to a new school. 

Given what the Sanders have already accomplished in short order at Colorado, that remains a big longshot. We expect Deion to stick around for another year at the very least. But if Shedeur keeps playing like this, Deion could be looking for a new quarterback in 2024.