Shedeur Sanders markets Gatorade's Mystery Flavor with color-changing cleats through NIL deal

Shedeur Sanders was the first college football athlete to sign an NIL deal with Gatorade.

The starting quarterback at Jackson State at the time, he was also the first HBCU athlete to work with the brand. A long-term partnership, Sanders is now at Colorado. He’s released his own Gatorade water bottle, which is in black and gold.

Over this past weekend, the quarterback starred in a new activation for the beverage company. Working with the cleat designer Mache, Gatorade created a pair of custom color-changing cleats as part of the announcement of its new flavor, Blackberry Raspberry. Sanders wore the cleats during pregame warmups.

The cleats were constructed with thermal pigment materials, which change color when exposed to temperatures below 72 degrees. Colorado shared a picture of the cleats he wore Saturday night, which included the phrase “legendary” and the quarterback’s “$2” logo.

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The youngest son of Deion Sanders is doing something nobody else in college sports has yet to master in the NIL Era: building out an apparel brand. A play on his name, Shedeur Sanders has created the SS2LEGENDARY brand. 

Merchandise started populating in December 2021, with a simple red sweatshirt and the “$2” logo, which frequently appears on the apparel. Sanders filed to trademark the mark in February for goods and services, including footwear, sweatshirts athletic apparel, baseball camps and skull caps.

Now he’s combined his brand with Gatorade cleats, just another unprecedented Sanders has achieved in the NIL Era. The brand has become active in the space, signing deals with UConn’s Paige Bueckers and former Florida quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Buffs lost their homecoming game, losing 26-19 to Oregon State on Saturday night. Sanders finished 24 of 39 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. The junior faced pressure all night, sacked four times. He’s also been battling a hip injury for the last two weeks.

 “It’s gotta be a life or death situation for me to just leave everybody hanging like that,” Sanders said following the loss. “The pain of not being there for them overrides the pain that’s going through my body.”

Shedeur Sanders continues to boast impressive NIL value

Combining the on-field success with his last name and major social media following, it’s easy to see why brands would want to work with him. His On3 NIL Valuation has jumped $3.3 million in the last 10 weeks. His valuation now sits at $4.6 million, which ranks No. 1 in college football. It’s also No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. Sanders only trails Bronny James and his $5.9 million On3 NIL Valuation. 

The quarterback impressed in the first month of the season, leading Colorado to a 3-0 start and a top-25 ranking. Things have gotten bumpier since Pac-12 played, as the Buffs now sit at 4-5 and 1-5 in league play. If they win two of their next three, Colorado will be bowl bound.

Working closely with SMAC Entertainment and Constance Schwartz-Morini, Sanders recently signed with Topps, Beats by Dre and Urban Outfitters. He’s also launched his own barbecue sauce, was tabbed as the BRADY brand’s long-term ambassador and promoted Mercedes Benz.