Shedeur Sanders might have slipped to the fifth round of the draft, but his star power off the field is already putting up historic numbers. The Cleveland Browns quarterback rewrote the NFL record books for merchandise sales.

According to new financial reports filed by the NFL Players Association and shared by Front Office Sports, Sanders brought in a massive $17.7 million in group licensing income during his first year in the league.

To put that number into perspective, it is the biggest single-season merchandise payout any football player has ever received. Sanders easily passed the previous record set by Tom Brady, who took home $9.5 million during his 2021-2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If you are wondering how group licensing works, it covers any retail products that feature six or more players together. We are talking about jersey sales, trading cards, video games like Madden, and co-branded apparel. The union report, which listed the payout under Sanders' company name, SS2Legendary, also includes money from official union marketing appearances.

The huge financial win comes after Sanders fell to the 144th pick in the 2025 draft. Because he slid down the board, his standard rookie contract pays him an average salary of about $1.005 million a year. His jersey and merchandise sales alone brought in more than four times the value of his entire four-year football contract.

Keep in mind that the $17.7 million check does not even touch his personal endorsement deals. Sanders already has big-time partnerships with companies like Gatorade, Beats by Dre, Delta Air Lines, and Ralph Lauren. When you add his private corporate sponsors to his record-breaking jersey royalties, his off-field earnings easily cleared the $20 million mark before his second year even started.

On the field, Sanders spent the first half of his rookie season working his way up the depth chart in Cleveland before taking over as the starter in Week 11. He started seven games, throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Browns to a few big divisional wins down the stretch. His active rookie season even landed him a spot on the Pro Bowl roster as an injury replacement.

Sanders is not the only player making serious money from retail right now. The overall merchandise market is booming, with total league licensing revenue up 47% this past year to $297 million.

Fans are clearly buying into the next generation of talent, and Sanders' college teammate is right there with him at the top of the charts. Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter finished second in the NFL with a $12.8 million payout through his company, TIPENTERPRISE LLC. Meanwhile, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished third at $8 million. To show how fast these numbers are climbing, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy led the entire NFL the previous year with $4 million.