Colorado’s Hunter, Sanders May Buck Trend by Playing in Bowl

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders suggested Tuesday that his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and two-way star Travis Hunter could participate in a college football bowl game this year despite being projected as high first-round NFL Draft picks.

The Buffaloes are technically still in College Football Playoff contention because of the expanded field, though their 37-21 loss to Kansas this past weekend made that a long shot. They need to win their regular season finale Friday against Oklahoma State and have results elsewhere spin their way to even reach the Big 12 title game.

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Deion Sanders said Friday’s game in Boulder is “not the last time you’re going to see (Shedeur and Travis) in a Buffs uniform,” implying the duo is prepared to suit up in a postseason matchup. “We are going to go to a bowl game in this thing on the right note because our fans deserve the absolute best,” the coach added.

If Colorado misses the CFP and Shedeur Sanders and Hunter still play in a bowl, they’ll be the rare elite NFL prospects competing in a finale without a championship on the line. No top five selection in the 2024 NFL Draft played in a bowl game, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Joe Alt choosing to avoid the risk of an injury with tens of millions of dollars at stake.

Aside from the 2024 NFL Draft’s top five, 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 a bowl-game injury harming a player’s earnings. In 2016, then-Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith sustained a serious knee injury at the Fiesta Bowl, and he dropped from a possible top-five pick to a second-round selections.

Smith reportedly held an insurance policy, enabling him to recoup some cash following his setback, but he likely lost out on at least $10 million in total rookie compensation by falling in the draft.

Even in a new NIL era that allows college players to make money from sponsorships, the potential for injury has deterred superstars from playing non-CFP bowl games.

For the most recent NFL Draft, each of the top five picks in the first round 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 prominent 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 allows more than 34 points per game.

After Sanders and Hunter depart for the NFL, Deion Sanders’ future is an unanswered question that at least one brand has accounted for in a sponsorship deal with the school. Speculation that the coach would jump ship following a buzzy two years has quieted following the recruiting commitment of 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis.

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