Shedeur Sanders has achieved almost everything he could have dreamed of at this point, following up a successful college career with the opportunity to be a long-term starting NFL quarterback.
But even after he took the field for the Cleveland Browns for the first time, he still had unfinished business. And it has absolutely nothing to do with football.
Sanders returned to the University of Colorado on Saturday, where he walked the stage to graduate with a degree in sociology. The former Colorado Buffaloes signal-caller hinted that he may take things further and pursue his master’s degree.
“I gotta stack up my real life chips… I might think about getting my master’s,” Sanders said in a video posted to “X”.
“Something like that I really feel like would be very effective… I don’t think you have to get your master’s or have to have your degree to be successful, but I’m doing it more for the activity of learning.”
While Sanders has received a lot of praise for his success on the football field, he deserves equal recognition for what he has accomplished in the classroom.
The quarterback held a 3.9 GPA out of a total of 4.0 at Colorado. He completed the majority of his coursework online and/or remotely to earn his degree, though he did attend a class in-person in April 0f 2024.
Shedeur Sanders Pays Tribute To Father, Deion Sanders, Ahead Of Colorado Graduation
He honored his father before receiving his diploma, laying out his cap and gown the same way that Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders laid out his uniform in the locker room before he took the field for the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.
“Thank you GOD,” Sanders captioned the post.
The elder Sanders has an interesting academic story of his own, too. Deion Sanders attended and played football at Florida State University from 1985-1988, but he never graduated as a Seminole.
Much later, during 2020, Sanders finished what he started and earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Organizational Management from Talladega College. He used the university’s FASTtrack program to secure his diploma.
Looking Into The 2026 Trajectory For Shedeur Sanders
GettyThe brother of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders took aim at a prominent team reporter.
Shedeur Sanders is making more money than the average college graduate, to say the least. He signed a four-year deal worth $4,647,380 with $447,380 guaranteed at signing after he was selected by the Browns at pick No. 144 overall in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders finished out the 2025 season with a 3-4 record as a starter, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven interceptions and 10 touchdowns. He also tallied 169 rushing yards and one score on the ground.
He enters 2026 in a heated battle with veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson for the starting job. That competition is far from over, with head coach Todd Monken indicating on 92.3 The Fan that no decision had been made yet.
“I would love to have (the answer to what’s going to happen at quarterback),” Monken said. “We’ve been on the field 3 practices…There’s only so many reps you get; you start to target who is gonna start opening day. That can change even if someone is gonna get two-thirds of reps or one-third of reps because you’re still gonna play preseason games.”
Whether it is Sanders or Watson who is ultimately named the starter, one thing that is for certain is that Sanders has already invested a lot in his backup plan.
Shedeur Sanders Reveals Why Graduation Was So Important, Despite NFL Status