Shedeur Sanders didn't get what he bargained for on his first NFL contract. Sanders gave up over six million dollars in one season by not returning to his father's Colorado Buffaloes football program and declaring for the draft before he fell to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.

He ended up with $4.6 million over four years instead.

"Sanders carried an NIL evaluation of $6.5 million, according to On3 Sports, but elected to pass on his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft," USA Today's Nick Brinkerhoff wrote.

"The move hasn't worked out from a monetary standpoint, but he did land on a team that presents an opportunity to start. It's a crowded room in Cleveland, but anyone's guess who eventually ends up with the job.

"So while it's a rocky start for Sanders in the pros, things change quickly - especially if he outplays that rookie deal."

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio revealed that Shedeur almost returned to CU but ran into a potential legal battle that would've challenged the legality of it.

"Last Friday night, while quarterback Shedeur Sanders continued to slide down the draft board, we raised the question of whether, at some point, it would make more sense for him to try to go back to college for another year. It ended up being the most-read story in the 23.5-year history of PFT," Florio wrote.

"It's currently clear that, even though he fell to a spot that will pay him roughly $4.5 million over four years, Sanders will be embracing his NFL opportunity.

"That said, we're told that the possibility was under consideration before his 144-pick plunge ended. And, separately, it's our understanding that antitrust specialist Jeffrey Kessler would have been interested in exploring the possibility of mounting a challenge to NCAA rules that would have prevented, in theory, Sanders's return."

Sanders returning to Colorado keeps getting mentioned, but it's not something that had a realistic chance of ever happening.