Shilo Sanders signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on Saturday night, Sunday, after being passed over in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Colorado safety and son of NFL legend Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders faces an uphill battle to secure a spot on the team’s final 53-man roster.
Sanders will be signed to a standard UDFA contract as an undrafted free agent, per the NFL collective bargaining agreement. These contracts usually come in the form of three-year contracts with no club options and at the league minimum salary.
For the 2025 season, rookie undrafted free agents such as Shilo Sanders will earn $840,000 if they make the final roster. If he stays with the team for the 2026 season, his minimum veteran pay would be boosted to $1,005,000, as mandated in the league’s CBA.
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During a family livestream on Twitch following the draft’s conclusion, Shilo expressed his disappointment at going undrafted:
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“They tested us this draft,” Shilo Sanders said, to which his father Deion replied, “they tested the whole family.”
Despite the initial setback, both Shilo Sanders and his father appeared optimistic about his landing spot with Tampa Bay:
“I’m thankful,” Deion Sanders added during the stream. “Tampa’s a wonderful spot.”
Shilo Sanders: From six years of college experience to fighting for an NFL roster spot
Shilo Sanders provides significant college experience to the Buccaneers, having spent six seasons at the college level. He started at South Carolina for two seasons before following his father and brother to Colorado for his last two years.
The 25-year-old cornerback played in 21 games over two seasons at the University of Colorado. He had 99 solo tackles (three for loss), one interception, and one sack in the process. In his last year – even though he was out for three games with a broken forearm – Sanders notched 67 total tackles, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one sack.
His draft value could have been impacted by several reasons, including not being invited to the NFL scouting combine in February and his injury history. Shilo Sanders missed two college seasons after injuring his ACL in 2022.
Yet he impressed evaluators at Colorado’s pro day with a solid performance, including a 40-yard dash time of 4.52 seconds.
The Buccaneers present an interesting opportunity for Shilo Sanders. Tampa Bay reached the playoffs last season with a 10-7 record under coach Todd Bowles. The team didn’t select any safeties in the 2025 draft, though they did add two cornerbacks from Notre Dame.
With former Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield Jr. solidified as a starter after signing a four-year, $84.1 million contract last season, the Bucs are moving on from fellow safety Jordan Whitehead. This creates a potential opening that Sanders could fight for among a group that includes Kaevon Merriweather, Tykee Smith, Christian Izen, Rashad Wisdom, and Marcus Banks.
Sanders took his cue during the draft process from Ryan Clark, a former Pro Bowl safety who went undrafted but went on to establish himself as a productive 13-year NFL player. Clark’s son – Notre Dame defensive back Jordan Clark – coincidentally signed on the same day as Sanders’s Buccaneers contract as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets.
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Edited by William Paul
