Shedeur Sanders officially signs rookie contract with Browns

Shedeur Sanders took a big step in his young NFL career on Monday, officially signing his rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns. 

The deal is, reportedly, a four-year contract, worth $4.6 million. It ensures Sanders, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, will have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot and solidify himself in the Browns’ quarterback battle.

With DeShaun Watson injured, the competition to be the Week 1 starter for Cleveland is wide open. It will be hotly contested and, thanks to Sanders’ media presence, highly publicized. Sanders is competing against fellow rookie, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett, whom the Browns acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Footage of Gabriel and Sanders competing was dissected throughout the Browns’ rookie mini-camp earlier this month. Things will only heat up with Organized Team Activities (OTAs) set to start next week. 

“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong, it’s to prove myself right,’ Sanders said about offseason expectations during Cleveland’s rookie minicamp earlier this month. “I fully have self-belief, you know, and what those people say, that’s just their opinion. So, I don’t truly care. They don’t really live in my mental space about that type of stuff.”

The Browns have signed four of their seven draft picks in this year’s class.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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